


Taro Boy and the Jasmine Dragon

by theoddwriter



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Teen Romance, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 24,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25322635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoddwriter/pseuds/theoddwriter
Summary: Zuko is finally getting adjusted to his new life in the city with his uncle. He loves his job at The Jasmine Dragon, and his favorite part is one certain customer. But what happens when that favorite customer becomes his English partner? Read to find out!
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong/Satoru (Avatar)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 131





	1. Chapter One

It had been about 4 months since Zuko began working at the Jasmine Dragon. He never thought that he would enjoy working at a tea shop with his uncle as much as he did now. There were plenty of benefits like 80s music and Jasmine Tea breaks but there was one specific perk that always made work more enjoyable, HIM. 

Blue eyes, tan skin, hair done in a neat bun, and a killer smile. He came in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, always with books and a laptop. He ordered a taro bubble tea and a chocolate chip cookie, thus earning him the nickname in Zuko’s head, Taro Boy. 

So naturally, Zuko makes it his business to keep an eye on the door, hoping that Taro Boy would walk in. 

“Nephew, it is time to wake up! I have made breakfast for us. And it isn’t porridge this time.”

Zuko had begun living with his uncle about 7 months ago after being kicked out of his father’s house. It has been a long recovery process for him, sometimes making it impossible for him to get out of bed. However, his uncle always made sure to give him a reason. His uncle was always there, even when Zuko was being impossible. He would never admit it, but he was so grateful to his Uncle Iroh, and loved him very much. 

Eventually, Zuko did get out of bed to join his uncle. Their apartment was admittedly very nice. Two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room type area. And it was right above the Jasmine Dragon, making it easy for both of them to get to work. 

The apartment smelled heavenly. His uncle knew how to cook very well, unlike Zuko. Iroh was cooking pancakes, and a nice cup of tea for each of them to enjoy. 

“You must eat well, this is your first day of your new school. Remember, you cannot go into battle without remembering your mental well-being. Do you remember what your therapist said?” Iroh checked in placing Zuko’s breakfast in front of him.

“Yes, I do, and I have my breathing techniques ready.” And as Zuko took a sip of tea he froze.

“Ginseng?” 

Iroh smiled. The two of them had begun a ‘tea game’, where Zuko had to guess the type of tea he was drinking. At first Zuko thought the game to be stupid, however it is easy for him to be swept up into a challenge. Just like how he made it his business to memorize the entirety of the Jasmine Dragon menu. 

“You’ve gotten good Zuko, I’m proud of you. You are going to do well today I feel it. You will be fine.” Iroh said calmly, joining his nephew in their living room area.   
The news was on creating background noise. Zuko knew his uncle didn’t like having a lot of noise going on in the house, but Iroh knew that Zuko needed to have some form of background noise to lower his anxiety. So Iroh made it his business to incorporate that into their daily routine. 

Zuko ate peacefully. He both had to calm his nerves and psych himself up for this new day at school. 

However he would certainly be lying if he said that he didn’t wish Taro Boy would be going to the same school as him. Obviously, he knew that it was a far fetched wish, they lived in a big city and there wasn’t a guarantee that Taro Boy could be going to Kyoshi High with him. But a guy could dream right? Even so, he was still nervous that because the school year was beginning, he wouldn’t see Taro Boy in the shop anymore. But he couldn’t think about worries right now, he had to think about school. 

Once Zuko finished his breakfast, he took both his and his uncle’s dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher. It took Zuko a while to begin helping out around the house, but now it became routine. 

He went back to his room and began studying his outfit in the mirror. A red sweater, black ripped jeans, and a pair of boots. The red sweater looked awfully big on him he began to notice, which filled him with embarrassment. He wasn’t able to work out as much as he once was because of getting sick so often with anxiety. So he grew to get a lot skinnier, which he knew was a stupid insecurity but it was one of his nonetheless. But no insecurity was deeper than his eye. His huge scar on his face covering his eye. It made him queasy as he went to touch it but he remembered that both his uncle and therapist warned him against it. 

After about 10 minutes of critiquing his appearance he took 3 deep breaths and grabbed his backpack. He exited his room and began checking everything in his backpack to make sure it was there and neat. He focused on every detail until his uncle pulled him out of his thoughts.

“The only thing you are missing is your lunch nephew.” Iroh said, holding out a lunch box. 

Zuko nodded, thankful for his uncle’s homemade lunch. He knew he would at least be eating well today above anything else. 

“Thank you uncle. I’ll do my best today and after school I’ll come back to work.” Zuko said with a smile. His smiles warmed his uncle’s heart more than Zuko would ever know. 

After that, Zuko put the lunch box in his backpack, slung it over his shoulders and exited his apartment. His earbuds went straight into his ears and he began to play some Billy Joel to keep his walk filled with noise. And “Uptown Girl” was a quick way to get him to move. Hopefully, school wouldn’t be so bad.


	2. Chapter Two

Kyoshi High School was perfect. It wasn't as intricate and expensive as Zuko’s old school, but he liked this so much more. There were students around the front lawn, posters all around, and people talking and laughing. This building had one thing that “proper” school didn’t have, life.

As Zuko walked around the building hoping to eventually find his locker, which at the current time was not turning out so well. And as he continued to roam he eventually found himself on the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” A voice said from on top of him.

Suddenly he was being pulled off of the floor, standing upright, and into a handshake. The boy in front of him had a yellow and orange color block hoodie and cargo shorts on, that actually looked pretty good. He was bald and had a crooked goofy smile that was a tad annoying but heartwarming at the same time.

“My name is Aang, I’m a freshman, are you lost?” He asked looking at Zuko quizzically. Which only made Zuko’s anxiety spike.

“Yes. I mean-uh I...I am Zuko, a junior, and yes I’m new here. Sorry.” He replied feeling like an idiot.

The boy suddenly took his hand and began dragging him up the stairs and into a new hallway. There were students lingering about but not too many, seeing as though Zuko did his best to get to school early. But he was surprised at the sudden tour.

“This is the junior hallway. I mean, I’ve only been in this building for a month, but I hope that I can help you out just a little bit. Hey, you should have lunch with my friends and I since you’re new Zuko!” Aang said excitedly.

However, before Zuko could reply the bell began to ring loudly. Aang soon was running off without even letting Zuko know where they would be eating lunch at all. But Zuko was quick to retrace his steps and find his first period classroom, Honors English.

The classroom was strange looking. The walls looked like library shelves and the room smelled like old books. The teacher was standing in the front behind a podium with wild white hair and a formal suit on. He stared dead at Zuko with a bright smile.

“Hello traveler! You must be Zuko, our newest member. Take the empty seat next to Sokka. Sokka please raise your hand!” The teacher called. 

Zuko scanned the room to look for the raised hand, and there in the back, with his hand raised high, was Taro Boy.   
It took all of Zuko’s courage to drag his feet towards his new desk. And when he looked into those blue eyes his heart began to pick up speed more than usual. He nearly forgot to do his deep breathing because he was so caught up in the moment.

“Jasmine Dragon! You’re the new kid? This is great. My name’s Sokka, it’s spelled with an Okka and I’m pretty sure you already knew that from Professor Bumi.” He said with a chuckle.

Zuko felt like fainting. Taro Boy- Sokka, knew who he was. He even had a nickname for him. The day started being brighter and brighter. He got his wish! He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he barely remembered to introduce himself.

“I’m Zuko, I’m glad to see you here, at least I know somebody now. And it’s nice to finally put a name to the face of my favorite regular.” Zuko said without thinking, but once the words left his lips he felt himself shutting down. He believed that this feeling was what was described online as, "gay panic".

“How sweet! Well you can call me by my name any time you’d like. And a Z name? Damn cool, I’ll be able to remember that easy.” He said with a nod. 

Unfortunately Professor Bumi cleared his throat and called attention to the class. It was time for poetry assessment, and Zuko had a feeling that he will definitely enjoy this class.


	3. Chapter Three

The rest of the morning went by well. The classes Zuko had were pretty interesting, and there was no shortage of interesting classmates he was able to meet. However, when lunch hit Zuko’s nerves flared up again.

He knew Aang would be waiting for him, but he didn’t know where to go at all. He overheard students talking about either eating in the cafeteria or outside at the tables in the courtyard. Zuko weighed his options and elected to try the courtyard, and even if he didn’t see Aang, at least he would get to see some more of the school. 

Once he made it to the courtyard however he heard his name get called loudly. He turned to see Aang, sitting at one of the picnic tables with none other than Taro Boy. 

“Hello Zuko here.” He tried to introduce himself as he walked over to the lunch table. 

There were two other people besides Aang and Sokka. There was a girl who slightly resembled Sokka, with long hair done in a braid drinking from a big water bottle. And there was a shorter girl with her hair in buns and snacking on some chips, however her eyes appeared clouded, almost as if she was blind.

“Aang, you know Zuko?” Sokka said with a smile.

“Yeah I met him this morning. Do you know him?” Aang asked going back to eating his salad, not looking up from it.

“He’s in my English class. And, he works at my favorite tea shop. Hey cutie, come sit next to me and Katara.” Sokka said with a cheesy grin. It made Zuko’s heart skip a beat. He shuffled over to the end seat next to Sokka and sat down.

When he pulled out his lunch from his uncle the others began to stare. Suddenly, the self conscious thoughts began to rise again. What if they thought his lunch was weird? Oh spirits no.

“What? Are you gonna make fun of me?” He asked with a bit of a snippy attitude.

“No man, it’s just...your lunch looks so, so good. Is that a bento box? And a separate container of strawberries? What is even in the box? I wanna see! It has got to be better than lunchroom chicken tenders.” Sokka said excitedly.

“It’s just rice, meatballs, and tamagoyaki. And yes, there are strawberries in the smaller tupperware.” Zuko said excitedly, willing to show off his uncle’s cooking. 

“Can I have a strawberry?” Sokka asked with puppy dog eyes. Zuko knew at that moment he was whipped.

Zuko held out a strawberry for Sokka, and instead of taking it with his hands, Sokka ate the strawberry right out of Zuko’s hand with a wink, setting Zuko’s skin ablaze. He knew he was probably red as a firetruck, but he knew he couldn’t help it.

“Sokka! Don’t freak him out! By the way, my name’s Katara, and the girl sitting over there is Toph. Thought you should at least know our names before my brother licks you and Aang decides to indoctrinate you into his circle.” The girl with the braid said with a laugh.

Into the group. Zuko was going to be welcomed into a group. And not just any group, a group with Taro Boy, a group with Sokka. 

Lunch just got better, and it actually encouraged Zuko to eat his full meal. He knew his uncle was going to be proud of him, which added more to his smile. Day one, and he ate lunch and with a group of people that could even be his friends!


	4. Chapter Four

The first half of the afternoon was fine in all honesty. However it was a lot more boring than the morning. Something about math just never appealed to Zuko. It was his biggest struggle subject and often got him yelled at by his father. So, he grinned and beared it, along with the study hall placed in his schedule. Now came the class he was excited about, gym.

Zuko loved working out. He wasn’t able to get as much in ever since he was kicked out. He tried his best, but he got very sick and his uncle eventually forced him to stop. But he was in recovery now, and he had the chance for some real competition.

As Zuko walked in he was roped into a side hug immediately. He went stiff. It was his natural reaction to surprise touch. His therapist warned him that he wasn’t quite ready to handle that yet.

“If it isn’t the jasmine dragon himself. Zuko! You’ve got gym with me!” 

It was Sokka. He has gym class with Sokka. Zuko suddenly felt on cloud nine. He got a second class with his Taro Boy. He nearly jumped with excitement. However that was cut short as Sokka began to drag him to the locker room. Zuko held on to his backpack to make sure that he packed his gym clothes.

The locker room smelled horrible. If there was ever a scent that could be deemed as “teenage boy” there it is. It was a combination of B.O., socks, and axe body spray. It was nauseating and overwhelming. But Sokka was holding on to his arm so Zuko decided to hold his breath and deal with it.

“Since you’re new and the locker next to me is empty, Looks like we’re neighbors! Let’s get changed, man I hope we’re playing a game today, warm up tests are so boring.” Sokka said before opening his locker and taking off his shirt.

Unlike all the articles online warning about gay men staring at their crushes in the locker room, Zuko felt the exact opposite. He couldn’t bring himself to even glance in the direction of Sokka. His face would burn even at the thought. So he took a deep breath and began to change. He had grown insecure of his new body that had slightly decreased in muscle, but he knew that he could handle this. So with as much speed as he could get he changed into a t-shirt and basketball shorts. But as soon as he went to put his backpack safe in his locker a body leaned up against it.

“Hey, I haven’t seen you around before. I assume you’re the new kid. The name’s Jet. A pleasure to meet ya~” A voice called. 

A lean boy with shaggy brown hair stood before him. He was tan and tall and had a smile that radiated trouble. He was handsome, yet seemed like a wolf circling prey. He made Zuko nervous, and embarrassingly enough, when Zuko got nervous he got quiet and defensive.

“Leave him alone Jet.” Sokka said slamming his own locker. He did not look happy. 

“What? I can’t say hello to the cute new kid? Did you already “lay claim” to him leader boy? Or are you just being as protective as usual.” The boy, who Zuko assumed to be Jet said with a sarcastic laugh.

“Shut up, you know you’re being a dick so keep moving. Or should I call Katara?” Sokka said anger in his voice.

Soon Jet was gone, almost as if the name Katara was poison. Zuko wondered if Sokka’s sister and Jet had some kind of past, but he didn’t want to give it much thought, especially with Sokka staring at him. Zuko cleared his throat.

“Who was-” Zuko began but Sokka quickly cut him off. 

“That was Jet. Whatever you do steer clear of him ok? He’s bad news, and now that he knows you’re with us he’s gonna be even more of a dick.” Sokka said, wrapping an arm around Zuko again.

Unlike the rest of the locker room Sokka smelled good, like fresh water or spring time. Zuko shook his head yes as a reply still at a loss for words at the whole thing.

The pair came out of the locker room and returned to the gym. There were a lot of students inside, Zuko wondered just how big this gym class really was.

“By the way, we juniors aren’t the only ones in this class. There are sophomores and freshmen too. The senior kids are in health right now. So they get to learn all about sex ed. Oh and Mr.Piando is our gym teacher. He’s great but his warm ups are rough. Try and keep up yeah?” Sokka said with a wink. 

Zuko found himself slightly confused. Sokka did seem to have muscle but he was confused at the thought of his love for sports. He was the customer that brought in Dungeons and Dragons books while he drank tea and was in Honors English. But learning new things about his favorite customer wasn’t half bad at all.

“Alright everyone! After warm ups today the sophomores will be in the weight room, the freshman will be running the track and the juniors will be playing...basketball.” Mr.Piando called out to the class.

The younger students seemed to groan but the juniors erupted into cheers. Zuko found himself clapping too. Team sports sounded like fun. He hoped that he would be on Sokka’s team, no matter how girly that wish seemed to feel.


	5. Chapter Five

Gym was great. Zuko was so glad he still had some of his strength, well enough to play on the stronger team in basketball. It wasn’t as fun as volleyball for him, but it was fine nonetheless. Especially because he was on a team with his favorite customer. No matter how much said favorite customer tripped while playing.

Zuko changed quickly and ran outside of the locker room to get a drink from the water fountain. No matter how gross he felt the energy from some sport made up for it entirely. But he had work to do now.

He made his way back to his locker up on the second floor to pack up his things for the day. Out of nervous habit he counted everything in his locker and in his backpack three times just to be safe. He checked his planner to make sure he had what he needed to bring home, including a bunch of permission slips for his uncle to sign. When he was satisfied he made his way to the front of the school. 

“Yo Zuko! Over here!” A voice called out to him. 

It was Sokka’s sister, Katara. She was with Toph and Aang sitting on the grass waving over to him. 

A smile quickly reached Zuko’s face and he found himself running over. This day felt as though it couldn’t get better. He made four friends, who called him over. They want to keep hanging out together with him. 

“Hello, Zuko here!” He called the group. 

Toph was laying down on the grass and waved at Zuko. She looked so oddly familiar to him but he shook it off to try and return to the moment.

“Heard you had a run in with Jet. My apologies.” Katara said with a sigh, grabbing Toph’s hand so she couldn’t keep biting her nails. Toph groaned but listened and smacked Aang instead, which made Aang pout. 

“It’s fine. He just said hi to me and leaned on my locker which made it hard to put my stuff away.” Zuko said with a shrug. 

Soon Zuko found himself looking around looking for someone, looking for Sokka. He was missing from the group which had Zuko on edge.

‘Man I have got to kick this crush, I’m like a lost puppy. It’s gross.’ Zuko found himself thinking.

“He’s at a football meeting. Sokka that is. He used to be team manager but Piando saw something in him, and now Sokka’s one of their best players.” Katara said, noticing Zuko’s expression.  
“That’s because he’s got a thick enough head that he can handle a few tackles.” Toph added, laughing her head off. Zuko was in shock, he couldn’t believe that the nerdy boy from the Jasmine Dragon who loved Taro tea and d&d was a football player. Aang jumped over next to Zuko and elbowed him with a big smile

“He’ll be back soon. Then we were gonna hang out. Do you wanna come with?” Aang asked.

“I’d love to, but I’ve got work.” Zuko suddenly said, regretting the choice he had made to go straight to work after school this morning.

“Easy solution, we go to where Zuko works! The Jasmine Dragon is the best damn tea shop in the city, NAY the world. Plus, I bet you all wanna see Zuko in an apron too right?” Sokka said walking up to everyone. Zuko’s heart leapt into his throat.

“You guys can come with me. It’s my uncle’s shop so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” He said, gaining a bit of confidence. 

The group began to follow him as he walked. He noticed Toph grabbing onto Sokka’s arm. He got a closer look at her eyes this way. She was really blind. You wouldn’t guess she would be based on her attitude, but he chalked that up to his ignorance on being born blind.

“Yes, I am blind. I forgot my walking stick today so I’ve been using the rest of the group as guides.” She said, ripping Zuko out of his thoughts. 

“Oh cool. I mean not cool that you’re blind but like, I haven’t met anybody else who has blindness except for me. There are plenty of people with glasses, but I can barely see out of my left eye anymore.” He said trying to save face, but also opening up about something he’d never really talked about to anyone outside of Iroh and his therapist.

“Cool! From one blindy to another, I can see perfectly fine with my other senses. Just like I can tell we’re here.” Toph said with a smile hitting Zuko on the arm. 

“Well yeah, here we are. But, how could you tell?” Zuko asked.

“Sokka stopped walking.”


	6. Chapter Six

The Jasmine Dragon was a cozy place. There were tan walls with lanterns hanging from the ceiling. There were circular wood tables with cozy chairs. On the far left there was a counter with bar stools for people who came in alone. In the back there were bean bag chairs and books for small kids that would come in looking for hot chocolate or are stuck with their parents who needed a break. When you walk in you’ll see the carpet leading to the front counter was deep green with two gold traditional japanese dragons, a nice touch for “The Jasmine Dragon”. 

“Life on Mars?” was playing quietly while the place was relatively empty. Zuko’s uncle was wiping down the counter while a few regulars were scattered about having their coffees and teas. 

“Welcome to my favorite summer spot.” Sokka practically yelled to the group. 

“Nephew? Did you bring friends home with you?” Iroh called, leaving his place behind the counter and approaching the group. 

“He sure did! Pleasure to meet you Zuko’s uncle sir.” Aang said, holding out his hand.

Iroh let out a kind laugh and shook Aang's hand. He was beaming over at Zuko.

“It is a pleasure to meet you all as well. What are your names? Come sit, I will get you all something to drink.” Iroh began seating everyone down but Zuko shot up out of his seat.

“Uncle I can take their orders, I am supposed to be working right now anyways, what would you guys like?” Zuko asked, stuttering a bit. The group looked at the menu that was on their table, Katara reading out the options to Toph. He looked at Sokka who’d been staring at him. He felt like screaming but kept it to himself, at least until he was in the kitchen.

“Ooo can I have the pomegranate iced tea? Oh oh oh! And one of those funfetti cupcakes! And I’m Aang” Aang asked.

“May I have an herbal sweet hibiscus tea? And 2 macarons? I’m Katara by the way.” Katara asked politely.

“A cup of hot ginseng tea. And one of the cake pop things.” Toph ordered. Iroh smiled at Toph. Zuko knew that Ginseng was his uncle’s favorite as well. 

“Hey Toph! Be nicer to the hottie making your hotTEA. Eh?” Sokka said with a wink. 

“Boooo!” Aang groaned after that joke.

“It wasn’t that bad!” Sokka attempted to defend himself.

“No way you’re coming back from that one captain. And, sorry for barking at ya Zuko. I’m Toph.” Toph said with a shrug. Zuko didn’t mind the order, what really got to him was the idea of being called a ‘hottie’ by Taro Boy himself. He felt like life was flashing before him at rapid speed.

“You know my order already Zuko. So don’t worry about me. I’m not too fancy.” Sokka said with a laugh scratching at the back of his neck. Zuko nodded trying his best to pull himself back together. And in his best customer service voice he said.

“I’ll be back out with your orders shortly.” And with that he ran into the kitchen to go have his own little bisexual heart attack while making tea.

Iroh then looked at the group once Zuko was out of ear shot. He placed his hands down on the table and took a deep breath. 

“ You all may call me Iroh. Thank you all for taking kindly to my nephew. He needs good friends here in the city. I’m so pleased he has met all of you. And I understand he can be a bit awkward but have patience with him please. If it isn’t any trouble for you all, I would love to have you for dinner in our apartment. It has been a while since we have had guests, mostly just my pai sho friends.” He said to the kids sitting at the table with him. 

“It’s no problem really. We were the ones that bothered Zuko first.” Katara said with a soft sigh.

“I tackled him before class by accident.” Aang added.

“He’s my english partner and I’ve come here for a few months now. And we are in the same gym class.” Sokka said, stretching his arms.

“He puts up with Sokka, he deserves a prize. And I’d like to stay over.” Toph said, going to bite her thumb but having it swatted away by Katara.

Iroh had himself a good laugh at everything that was happening. The cast of characters his nephew had attracted to him were so good. This was what Iroh wished for his nephew for so long. He wasn’t hanging out with all of those negative types anymore, and he wasn’t a loner either. He made friends.

Meanwhile, Zuko was making tea and plating desserts. It took more time for him to remember how much tea to pour into a cup than it took him to memorize the menu. The easiest order however, was the Taro Bubble Tea that he had been perfecting over the summer. He himself hated the sensation of tapioca in his drink, but he grew to like the smell of the purple drink. Once he had everything done he brushed his hands off on his Jasmine Dragon apron and took his 3 deep breaths. He hoped his ‘people skill’ lessons from his therapist wouldn’t fail him. He shook his head clean of worry and came back out to his friends with a big tray in hand with all of their orders. 

“We should be helping you Zuko. We’re guests.” Katara said smacking Sokka on the head to join her in helping Zuko. 

“Nono it’s fine. I’ve been doing this for a few months now. The balancing act was the least of my worries.” Zuko said, finishing placing everybody’s orders in front of them. Once he finished Sokka stared at him again with a smile on his face. Zuko then dropped his serving tray on his foot. 

“Dammit!” Zuko said with a groan.

And as Zuko bent down to grab his tray, Sokka did as well. Neither of them were expecting each other so they crashed skulls. This knocked Zuko on his ass and sent Sokka reeling. The pain did suck, but the real problem was the embarrassment, alarming Zuko to run away from this social situation and call it a loss. 

His other three friends and even his own uncle were hysterically laughing. And just as Zuko thought all hope was lost, a hand grabbed his. 

“Come on Zuko. Drink tea with me. We’ll probably knock heads like that often so prepare yourself.” 

It was Sokka. He had a bright red mark on his forehead and Zuko could only assume he had a matching one on his own forehead. But as he looked at his new friends, and in the eyes of Taro Boy, he knew that escape was not an option. He needed to be here. And as he looked at the jasmine tea he poured himself on the table he nodded.

“Okay.”


	7. Chapter Seven

“Zuko, you should arm wrestle with me, right now.” 

Toph put her elbow on their living room table with a big smile. The others in their group groaned. Zuko was obviously confused by this. Why on Earth did this tiny, fully blind, freshman girl want to arm wrestle him? He felt it would be wrong to do so. 

“Don’t do it Zuko it’s a trap! Last time my wrist hurt for a week!” Aang cried with a pout. 

“Come on Jasmine boy arm wrestle! You’re a part of our group now so you have to do this with me.” She said.

Zuko debated with himself. He wondered if he could morally do this. If he hurt her he would feel like a monster, but if he babied her she may get angry at him, which could mean that he wouldn’t be able to hang out with his friends anymore. He took a deep breath and decided, putting his elbow on the table. 

“If you go easy on me I’ll be able to tell and I’ll be pissed if you do.” She called grasping his hand.

Sokka put his hands over their clasped ones. 

“Ready. Set. Go!” He cheered, removing his hand when he said go. 

Zuko went to push with just the right amount of strength in his opinion. Not too hard but not taking it easy. He hoped she wouldn’t be mad at him winning. However the second after Sokka called go, Toph’s push was much stronger than his and he quickly had his wrist slammed into the table. 

“Ow!” He cried. 

“Toph lifts weights Zuko. She may look tiny but she’s incredibly strong. She could probably win a fight if a person makes the first move. She’s won every hammer game you could imagine, it throws everybody off the first time so don’t worry about it too much.” Katara explained with a chuckle. 

This threw Zuko for a loop. His new friends were rather strange people. Each of them were so oddly unique, and Zuko for once felt at place. He wasn’t the odd man out of the group. Sure, deep down he felt like he was still the most awkward and broken of the group, but in moments like these he felt normalcy that he hadn’t felt in years. 

The apartment smelled like noodles. Zuko knew his uncle made amazing spicy noodles that everybody would like. As much as Zuko likes his food extra spicy, he was able to deal with a more mild version of the noodles as to not scare off his guests. 

“I have made noodles and I have some warm bread that I picked up at the store today. I hope that’s ok with everyone. It is ready for you all when you are ready to eat.” Iroh called from the kitchen. The smell was amazing, Iroh and Zuko’s mother were the only two people in the world that made these noodles perfectly. 

The group got up and formed a line in the kitchen to have their own serving of dinner. Zuko had put on one of his favorite 80’s movies, the original Karate Kid. It was his favorite movie that both him and his uncle could agree was good. 

As the group sat back down to eat Sokka guided Toph fork towards the plate just to show her where it was. Taro Boy just kept getting more and more attractive by the second. He was caring as well as ridiculous. He was full of mysteries that Zuko wanted to discover. 

Aang took the first bite.

“This is amazing!” He said excitedly. “And there’s no meat in it! I gotta come back for this.”

Zuko began to beam with pride over Aang’s excitement. 

“Normally I would say that not having meat is a shame to most dishes. However, this is incredible. Same amount of spice as the stew Katara makes at home.” Sokka added with a thumbs up. 

The group ate and watched the movie, laughing at Ralph Machio while Iroh told them the story of when he first saw this movie in theaters. Iroh always had good stories to tell, it seemed as though there was never a dull moment in his life up until he became a father. 

After two more hours things had to wrap up. Aang had to go home to his dog Appa, and Katara and Sokka had to go home and do laundry. Zuko felt a pang in his heart when they began to leave. But he noticed that Toph stayed behind. Which worried him greatly because of her lack of walking stick. He slid over next to her. 

“Do you want a ride home Toph? My uncle and I can take you back to your place. It’s too dark to walk anyways. 

Toph stayed silent and curled her legs closer to her body. She leaned her head against her knees almost as if she was debating with herself. Zuko had a strange feeling in his chest. Like he felt a kinship to her. As if he had been in her situation before. 

“Zuko, please go wash the dishes for me ok?” Iroh asked and shooed Zuko out of the room. He went and did as he was asked but he still felt strange. He had just met her today, how could he feel that something was off?

“Please just take me to Katara and Sokka’s house for tonight. My parents...uh...aren’t home? Yeah they are out on vacation. So I was probably going to have a girls sleepover with Katara. I think she forgot though. So don’t worry about it.” Toph explained quietly to Iroh. Zuko couldn’t help but eavesdrop as he did his chore. 

“Of course I will, but just know there is never any shame with asking others for help. Do come over more often ok?” Iroh asked calmly. Zuko still felt off, and he wondered if his uncle could feel it too. 

They did end up taking Toph over to Katara and Sokka’s house. Zuko walked her to the front door. The house was cute. It had a blue exterior with a small flower garden by the door. It wasn’t an expensive looking home, but it still looked cozy in a way. Zuko elected not to go inside, one because it was late, and two he didn’t want to invade their space anymore than he already had. 

As he wished his friends goodnight and gave Sokka a wave, he felt exhausted. Almost as if he had been hit by a bus. He shuffled back into his uncle’s car and stared out the window as they drove through the city back home. He couldn’t wipe the soft smile off of his face. 

“You should get some rest, nephew you’ve done well today. Be sure to continue having fun. I will sign your permission slips and you can get some sleep. Tomorrow you must catch up on homework and new assignments. I will give you today as your first day of school pass. You should share your good news to your therapist on Thursday.” Iroh said calmly to his smiling nephew. 

Zuko nodded in agreement, his mind somewhere off in space. 

He hoped everyday could be like this one, even if it was unrealistic, a boy could still dream right?


	8. Chapter Eight

The next week went by like a blur. Things felt like a teen movie montage. It was filled with listening to Bumi give history lessons about poetry and having “exercises in creativity”. Which was made better by Sokka’s rantings. His ability to create poetry by being given the prompt “Oaf” never failed to impress Zuko. Sure his stuff was mostly comedy and could get a room full of people laughing, but when he got into dramatic poetry during the day on Edgar Allan Poe it even impressed Professor Bumi. Being his English neighbor felt like a blessing that he wanted to hold on to. 

“What are you staring at?” Sokka asked Zuko coming up from behind him in the hallway. It made Zuko tense up and feel like running away. But he remembered his 3 breaths and turned around. 

“This poster about play auditions. I know it sounds lame, but I love theater. My mom always took me to plays as a kid and she used to be an actress herself. I never thought about acting at my old school, but Kyoshi High is supposed to be a fresh start right?” Zuko rambled. 

He found himself to be more comfortable just rambling around Sokka. However, he was not expecting Sokka to grab Zuko by the shoulders and smile at him. His comfort soon turned to embarrassment. What if Sokka found his interests funny? Oh spirits this was going to suck. 

“You have got to try out! You already look like a movie star. Oh! And Katara’s friend Haru works on Set Crew there. He’s a sophomore like she is. Man this is awesome! You’re going to kill it in this audition. We have to get you prepared!” Sokka said, dragging Zuko all the way to the Sophomore wing of lockers.

Katara was already talking to the boy Zuko presumed to be Haru. They were talking about something regarding a gardening club. Zuko always knew Katara was into the environment, but plants? He was pleasantly surprised. He made a mental note to get her a plant for her birthday. His uncle always taught him that it was best to learn from other people to make them and yourself happy. 

“Katara! Haru! I need you two to stop being preachy environmentalists for like five seconds. Haru, my good pal. I need you to help my friend Zuko get into the play thing.” Sokka said, putting his hands on his hips..

“Sokka! Ever heard of the word please? And maybe a hello instead of bursting into somebody else’s conversation?” Katara began scolding her brother, something Zuko was growing to be used to. But it still frightened him every once and a while. But that was a memory he was hoping to forget entirely. 

“I’d be happy to help. And there’s nothing wrong with preaching for some good dirt!” Haru said with a laugh. 

This boy was taller than Katara but shorter than Zuko and Sokka. He had long hair and looked every amount of stereotypical hippie that one could think of. However he did have a mustache that Zuko greatly wanted to shave. But he figured that that was not his business. 

“So, it says I just go to the auditorium in like an hour right? Do I just walk in and audition?” Zuko asked, playing with his hands and gritting his teeth a bit. 

“You walk in at 4, you get an audition sheet where you put your name, what grade you’re in, if you’ve been in any theater productions before, and what roles you’re interested in, stuff like that.” Haru explained calmly. 

“Alright man, you have an hour ‘til auditions which means we got to get you hyped up. Oh, and just know after your audition you’ll be attending the football game. Don’t try to fight it, I need a cheerleader in the stands for me ok?” Sokka began rambling at Zuko. 

Zuko just nodded at everything that was happening at the moment. Katara placed a hand on Zuko’s shoulder and gave him a smile. 

“Don’t let Sokka stress you out. Get some water before the audition ok? You’re not hydrating regularly which could seriously make your anxiety worse according to studies done by-” She started but was quickly cut off by her brother. 

“That’s enough of the lecture ok? He and I will grab some water and I’ll give him a good pep talk alright? Sokka said, sticking his tongue out at his sister. 

She stuck her tongue back out at him and both Haru and Zuko found themselves laughing. The Clearwater siblings were two ridiculous individuals. But their arguing felt a whole lot nicer than what Zuko knew family arguments to be like. 

“I’ll go tell Toph and Aang that we will meet up with Zuko after his audition and we’ll all sit at the football game together. Oh and Zuko?” Katara asked.

“What?” 

“Quit playing with your fingers. If you don’t stop I will paint your nails.” She threatened pointing a finger at him. Zuko raised his hands and nodded almost as if she was holding him at gunpoint. She may be a kind environmentalist but man could she be scary. 

“Come on Zuko! We’ve got pre-audition motivational bending to do!” Sokka called and began to drag Zuko out of the school building towards the convenience store right by. 

It was a small place that smelled like cigarettes and lottery tickets. But there was a good drink supply in the back of the place. The shelves however seemed to be lined with every chip and candy that Zuko could think of, he marked this place in his mind as somewhere to go if he needed a quick snack and couldn’t go home. 

“Now do you want to have an energy drink, gatorade, or straight up water? I’m partial to a good energy drink however Katara nags me about how I shouldn’t have them. But I think they quench ya just like water. Up to you though. You look like a red gatorade kind of man but I can’t be too sure.” Sokka said waving his hand in front of Zuko’s face to pull Zuko out of all the bookmarking he was doing in his head. 

“Look man, I know you might be nervous, but trust me, you’re going to nail this. You’re good at pretending to be happy dealing with Karens barking their breakfast orders and Chit Sang taking an hour to decide what he wants even though he gets the same thing every single time. And don’t act shocked that I know this, you’ve been the waiter at my regular place since June.” He said crossing his arms. 

Zuko knew that Sokka said to not be shocked but the idea that Taro Boy thought about Zuko all the way back then, before they had become friends was still a quick way to give Zuko butterflies in his stomach. He felt his face heating and he cursed himself in his own head. He noticed Sokka was waiting for a reply and all he could do was laugh. 

“I guess you’re right. Tea server Zuko is almost a character of his own. Alright, I’m gonna try this.” Zuko said, grabbing a redbull and a big water. 

“Wise choices sir! I knew you had taste, I mean you like my jokes. You clearly are brilliant.” Sokka said, grabbing the drinks out of Zuko’s hands and paying for them before Zuko could protest. 

“Why did you do that?” Zuko said as they were leaving. 

“You serve me tea. I’ve eaten food at your house. And you pick me up when I fall on my ass during basketball. It’s about time I treat you don’t you think?” He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the whole world. And when he caught Zuko staring he ruffled Zuko’s hair and lightly shoved him. 

“Come on nerd! Let’s sit outside of the auditorium and I’m going to hype you up the way I do to the team before our games. Awkwardly but filled with spirit!” Sokka said, grabbing Zuko’s hand and dragging him off. He was rather fast for a skinnier guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad people are liking this story so far! Just know that I will do my best to consistently upload. And I swear that I'm going to write some more Avatar stories since I certainly don't think that there are enough of them.


	9. Chapter Nine

The auditorium was filled with people, all strangers. He felt his blood go cold. He wished that Sokka could have stayed longer, but he understood that his friend left his cleats at home and had to get them before the game. But that didn’t make him any less nervous. 

“Zuko you’re here! The audition seats are over there. Pick up the blue one and write down your information ok? And talk with some of the other actors, they don’t bite I swear. Well...except for one, but I think you’re smarter than to be in that situation.” Haru said pointing to the audition sheets with one hand and carrying a prop box under his other arm. 

He went over to the sheets and began to fill his out and one of the random auditorium chairs. More people began crowding in. Zuko did his best not to get over-stimulated. He took some more deep breaths and focused on his writing. He could do this. He could do this. And just as he was going to hand his sheet over to the stage managers a pair of hands stole the sheet right out of Zuko’s hands. Familiar hands.

“So you like theater also Zuko? Another man good at sports and in this club? I should feel threatened. But man am I glad you’re here. We need more boys in this club anyways. Romeo and Juliet needs guys just as much as any other play am I right?” It was Jet. He was looking down at Zuko with the same look on his face that he had when they had first met. 

“Yes, I’m auditioning. I thought you did just sports though.” Zuko said, as he was going to grab his sheet from Jet. However Jet continued to hold it out of his grasp. 

“I play baseball as well, but that’s in the spring. I’ll drop both of our sheets off.” Jet said passing their sheets down the line landing them in the hands of the stage managers. 

“Sokka not with you right now? Oh yeah… he’s a helmet head nowadays. Better for me, I get to have you to myself~” Jet said with a wink. 

Haru called Zuko over in attempts to get him away from Jet. Zuko took the escape route Haru had offered him. He figured that talking to a friend of Katara’s is better than this awkward conversation that made heat rise to his face. He didn’t want to be getting flustered over the enemy though. That was not on his agenda. 

“Hey man, you good? Jet’s a bit… much.” Haru said, pulling Zuko a bit closer to him. 

Before Zuko could say he was alright and that it was just a bit awkward, the director called out to everyone. She began to gather everyone into groups so they could each act out a scene. When Zuko heard his name he stood up and walked over to his group. And standing in his group were one other guy, and Jet. They were going to read out the fight between Romeo, Mercutio, and Tybalt. And Zuko got stuck with Romeo. 

The other kid’s name was lost in Zuko’s mind, it was either Jake or Jason but he had no idea which. Which he felt slightly bad for, but he was nervous. It was his first time auditioning and he got into a group with a guy that not only flustered him but everybody warned him not to be around. 

They practiced the scene over and over again in the hall. At first they were figuring out where to walk and move after slating themselves. Then it was on to delivering the words. However their small time in the hallway did not feel long enough. It was too soon, but there he was, being called on stage. 

Zuko went on stage and gave it all he had. The group worked well together, better than Zuko ever thought they would. He wouldn’t deny that Jet was one hell of an actor. And he was surprised that the both of them played well into their roles. Zuko never thought of himself as a Romeo type, but there he was, fighting with Jet, who was playing Tybalt. He heard whispers of the stage managers while he was going, saying words like ‘chemistry’ and ‘comparison’. He did his best to block all of it out of his mind though. What mattered was what was happening on stage. That’s what his mom always told him. 

When the whole thing ended the director called everyone on stage to line up together so she could pair people up, to look at them together. Zuko assumed this was to see who looked like couples, who looked like siblings, and who looked like rivals. He knew this was just a part of the process of the whole thing but he couldn’t help but shake a bit. 

Then they were dismissed. Everyone left the stage and grabbed their bags. Some girls were chatting together about how they were nervous, and others about how they were so excited for the cast list to come out. And as Zuko went to grab his bag and leave a familiar voice called from behind him. 

“Zuko, you did wonderfully today. Acting with you felt so natural, I’m excited to see where we land on the cast list.” Jet said following Zuko outside. He was definitely in Zuko’s personal space, but the scarred boy was far too awkward to tell Jet that. 

However a hand grabbed his. Katara’s hand, and behind her were Toph and Aang. She looked angry. 

“Come on Zuko, we should go.” She said glaring at Jet and pulling Zuko away from him. 

Jet gave a coy wave and a pointed look at Katara and she and Zuko walked back towards their friend group. Zuko felt his head swirling. Everything that had just happened felt like all the energy was being squeezed out of him, from his inky hair to his laced up boots. He felt like throwing up but also like celebrating. He was not used to all of this. 

“Ugh, I hope Jet wasn’t being an asshole like he always is. Come on, we are going to go support my brother. It’s football game time.” She ranted, letting go of Zuko and grabbing Aang’s hand and walking forward with him, leaving Toph and Zuko behind to chat. 

“Ok, I need to know what happened between the two of them. Please tell me Toph, I’ll give you a free cakepop and drink the next time you come into the shop?” Zuko bribed his friend, hoping it would give him an answer to this question. 

“Jet’s… a womanizer. He really fucked over Katara and lied to her a lot. He was a part of the environmental movement she and Haru were in. But he had...extreme ideas to get things better for the Earth. He had violent ideas, and destructive ideas. He took things too far, and when Sokka caught him in his lies and his flirting with other girls, he told Katara. And the rest was history. At least that’s what I know. I’m not 100% on the details since I wasn’t directly involved.” Toph said, stretching her arms out. 

“Just know, what Sokka did, was what I would have done, and I’m sure what the lovebirds up ahead would. In our group we may have our own secrets, but when somebody among us is getting hurt. That shit’s unacceptable. So just know, if we catch you hurting, and you try to hide it, just know we’ll be on your ass until you get enough love through that skull of yours.” Toph then punched his arm hard. 

“Ow! What was that for?” 

“That’s how I show affection.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next few chapters things will get a lot more romantic and cheesy, just a warning :)


	10. Chapter Ten

“Let’s grab seats by the field, because if Sokka can’t wave to us when he does something cool he’ll throw a fit.” Toph said moving her stick around to make sure she could figure out where she was going. 

The sun was going down. He hadn’t realized how long he spent in the auditions. He reached in his pocket to send his uncle a quick text, just to not worry him. He knew that his uncle would be fine, but he couldn’t help but worry just a bit about him. He hoped he remembered to leave out the tea he bought for his uncle a few days ago.

The sunset was beautiful, it painted a beautiful range of pastels. Yellows faded into orange, and orange into pink, and pink into purple. The October air was crisp and nipped at his nose, making his face flush redder than usual. He groaned realizing that wearing just a flannel and t-shirt was not his wisest option, but he hadn’t planned on being out so late. But he wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. He wouldn’t trade making his Taro Boy happy for anything. 

“Aang, did you bring your beanie? Put it on! You just shaved your head again. Please, you could catch a cold.” Katara said softly squeezing his hand. Aang did as instructed but once it was on his head she grabbed his hand tightly again, and she stared off beyond Aang.

It was a girl Katara was staring at. The girl was around Aang’s height, she wore her hair in a ponytail and wore a long skirt and sweater. She was so excited to run over to him. He noticed Katara tensing as she arrived. 

“Hey there history partner. I’m sorry about Hide being so weird. Maybe I can buy you a hot chocolate to make up for it?” She said, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. 

“Really? Thanks so much On-ji. And it’s alright, he’s a popular guy and I bet he just likes you a whole lot.” Aang replied to her. 

Zuko realized what was happening to his friend and his heart sank looking at Katara’s face. Aang was entirely oblivious as to what was happening on On-ji’s end, but he clearly had a crush on Katara. This was so uncomfortable, so unbelievably uncomfortable, and he wanted any way out of listening to this conversation. 

“So Toph, do you get anything out of watching these games?” He asked the smaller girl. 

“Eh, I can’t watch it, but Katara and Aang always give me a play by play, as well as the announcer guy. Oh, and those football moms make some damn good food. I gotta get you one of their cookies. You will be blown away.” Toph said leaning against the fence guarding the football field. 

Zuko wasn’t used to that. He remembered that at his old school usually caterers handled the concessions at events. The fact that moms and dads participated in the football games themselves was unbelievable. He looked out onto the field and saw him, his Taro boy, in a football jersey and tight football pants. That just became another perk of being around him.

Sokka was standing with Mr.Piando and discussing things with the rest of the team. He looked totally serious, which was a face that Zuko rarely saw. But he loved it. 

“Hey Zuko! Is this your first high school football game?” Aang asked, grabbing Zuko’s arm. 

The quick touch was still nerve wracking to him. A shiver went down his spine which he was sure that Aang and the other had noticed, he wondered if even Toph could sense his nerves. His therapist told him he wasn’t ready for that, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone about how it bothered him. If it made them uncomfortable he wouldn’t know what he would do. He only knew them for 2 weeks, he couldn’t scare them off. He had to think of an excuse. 

“You ok?” Katara asked, she noticed. 

“Yeah I’m fine, just a bit cold is all. I didn’t expect it to get this cold. Oh and yeah, this is my first high school football experience.” He said trying to maintain some form of dignity.

“That’s fair, well Sokka is coming over here right now so I’ll ask him if you can have his jacket. He’s not using it anyways, and it’s his big varsity one so it’ll fit.” Katara responds with a wave towards the field, where Sokka is bounding over to them with a bag in hand.

“Hello my dearest fans, Katara take my bag. Is dad here?” Sokka asks excitement in his voice. 

When Zuko saw Aang and Katara’s faces drop Zuko knew the answer. 

“No, he isn’t back from work, he says it’ll be another month. But he’ll be back for thanksgiving! Oh! Can Zuko borrow your varsity jacket? He forgot it was October.” Katara was trying to be comforting to Sokka in any way she could. Almost in a motherly way. Zuko felt a burn of jealousy strike through him. A sister that cared… 

Sokka nodded and wiped the frown clear off his face. He jumped up and down and pulled out the jacket from his bag and put it around Zuko’s shoulders. He leaned in close to Sokka’s ear and began to whisper. 

“Now people know who you’re rooting for.” 

Zuko felt his heart skip multiple beats. His whole body raised in temperature and he was pretty sure that it wasn’t the jacket doing that. 

“Earth to idiots! Piando is calling you Sokka and Zuko, you’re gonna walk me over to the concessions. Aang and Katara grab seats before the girls with the face paint show up.” Toph laughed out trying to change the awkward tension that was brewing. 

“Bring back two hot pretzels for Katara and I.” Aang said handing Toph some money.

And as Aang left to find a spot with Katara, Sokka ran off to join his team. Zuko walked towards the stand attempting to avoid the crowd as best as he could. He wished he took his medication before coming here, but hindsight is 20/20. They made it most of the way there until somebody slammed their whole body into Toph. Zuko quickly went to pick her up, anger swelling inside of him but somebody beat him to it. 

“I am so sorry. Wait, Toph? Is that you?” A boy said getting off of Toph and helping her.

He had curly dark hair and big glasses. He was a bit taller than Zuko and wore oddly professional clothes for a high schooler.

“Yeah it’s me. Do I know you?” She said getting up and clinging onto Zuko’s shirt. 

His face flushed red and went to adjust his glasses and fix his hair. 

“My name’s Satoru, I’m in your gym class. You’re incredibly strong even though the gym teachers tell you that you can’t do it. Oh my...I knocked away your cane. I’m so so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going.” The boy began to ramble. 

Zuko had to hold in a laugh. He couldn’t believe that this awkward nerd admired Toph Beifong. The girl who gets a thrill from arm wrestling people bigger than her for the pure joy of laughing at them. 

“Nah you’re good. If you really want to apologize you could buy me some snacks from the football moms.” She said with a big laugh, touching him on the arm. 

Toph was blushing. Toph. Was. Blushing. Zuko was in shock. He’s watched her mock Katara and Aang’s flirtationship and the concept of romance books/movies for the past 2 weeks. And some tall poindexter could make her blush. It felt wrong. 

“Of course! Anything you want. Anything for… your friend?” He said, beginning to walk towards the concession stand. Zuko followed with Toph trying to make sense of the situation. 

“This is Zuko, he’s kind of my brother.” Toph said walking faster than Zuko was. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Are you in my grade or are you a senior?” Satoru asked him pulling Zuko out of his confusion. 

“I’m a junior. And I moved to this area a few months ago and started school here two weeks ago. I just wanted to walk Toph over here cause the crowds are kind of crazy. I expected a crowd, but this is a lot.” Zuko began to ramble but he felt Toph jab him in the side making Zuko immediately shut up.

“Glad you’re here! Now Toph, what would you like?” Satoru asked when they arrived at the concession stand. 

“One of those big cookies and two hot pretzels.” She said cracking her knuckles. 

“Is there anything you’d like Zuko? I’m paying.” The boy asked, turning around to face Zuko. Which shocked Zuko entirely. 

Zuko has never had anyone offer to pay for him. His whole life he was used to people asking for his money, asking for him to get them reservations or tickets. But here this is, another guy, a stranger in his grade, offered to buy him a snack. 

“A hot chocolate if that’s ok?” He mustered up the courage to say. 

And just like that the snacks were ordered. Satoru and Toph began to have a long conversation about engineering. Zuko knew that Sokka also liked that stuff, so he kept an ear out but decided not to interrupt the conversation. Learning a few new terms to talk to the one and only Taro Boy was never a waste of time. 

“Kids! Your snacks are ready! The games’ about to begin!” A mother said calling from the counter.

Zuko took a deep breath, snuggled into the big varsity jacket he had on and thought to himself,

‘Alright, time to cheer for Sokka’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is liking this story so far! I'm going to do my best to update as frequently as possible.


	11. Chapter Eleven

The stands were loud. Everything was so loud. There were teenagers and proud parents screaming at the top of their lungs responding to the cheerleaders doing flips and jumps. Even Zuko found himself getting into it. 

Sure he was clutching onto his hot chocolate, and keeping to his own personal space. But he was yelling along with the other people in the crowd. It was definitely encouraged by Aang who always has plenty of energy, but Zuko would be lying if he said he wasn’t having fun. But the best part?

Sokka. 

He was amazing on the field. He wasn’t as muscly as the other guys on the field but he was damn fast. He was agile and calculated. It was almost as if he knew that he couldn’t out muscle some of the other guys so he used the rest of the field to his advantage. Sokka was absolutely incredible. 

Now it was about half time and the seconds were counting down. Zuko had his eyes glued on the field while other people in the stands were counting down the seconds and there it was. Sokka running through the end zone. He did it. He scored a touchdown, and right then, the band began to play. It felt like a moment out of a high school movie. And Zuko couldn’t help but feel that he was glad the game wasn’t over, he wanted more. 

“Zuko! Are you having fun?” Aang asked, waving his hand in front of Zuko’s face. 

“Yes, I honestly am. The only sports events I’ve been to are ones that I’ve participated in. And those were so much different than this. This has more...life, you know? As much as the noise is a lot, it’s great.” He replied, getting up to throw out his cup. 

“Can you throw out this pretzel wrapper too?” Katara asked.

“Of course I can. I’ll throw it out and if anybody needs anything else I got it.” 

“Make sure Sokka’s drinking his water. I’ll kill him if he isn’t because he gets dehydrated so easily, and he just played very hard.” Katara said with a huff. “Oh and tell him that if he stays hydrated and scores again the group will go shopping. 

“He likes to shop? Ok!” Zuko made sure to note that in his brain as he walked off the bleachers and down to where the trash can was. However, the second Zuko went to turn around and head back towards the stands he felt somebody tap his shoulder. He gasped at the sudden contact and whipped his head over to find none other than Sokka. 

“Zuko! Did you see all that?” He exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Zuko’s shoulders. 

He was sweaty, and dirty but he looked alive. And for some reason that above anything that had happened in the past two weeks, the flirty remarks, the big jacket around him, none of it compared to seeing Sokka’s real smile. His cheeks flushed, slightly out of breath, and a smile brighter than the sun. He was gorgeous like this. He was gorgeous and happy.

“I did. Are you drinking your water? Katara told me that she’ll kill you if you aren’t. And uh….if you do, I’ll take you shopping.” Zuko said, clearing his throat. 

“We can go shopping! And tell Katara not to worry, I’ve been drinking all my water as I’ve been told.” Sokka said with a laugh. 

“She always yells at you, and bonks you with stuff on the head. And you still listen to her advice?” Zuko asked. 

“Well yeah, she’s my sister. And sometimes, even I can admit, I get annoying. So I’m grateful for when she reminds me to take care of myself, so in exchange, I’d do anything to keep her safe. It’s just family , you know? Family takes care of family.” Sokka explained with a laugh, the night air around him making his own breath visible. 

Family takes care of family. Zuko never thought of it like that. He never saw it like that. He never even knew his own sister or father enough, nor did they know him enough to make anything work. He felt a wave of jealousy overtake him but did his best to shake it off. 

“That’s amazing. And man, you’re amazing. You’re so fast and smart with what you do out there. Almost like you use math or something.” Zuko laughed.

“That’s because I do. I use geometry when I plan out strategies with my team. I work with Piando sports wise, but I work with our engineering teacher a lot too. And a bit of d&d strategy planning always helps. I use math and angles to get the slightest bit of advantage. The rest is luck honestly. I’m lucky that I’m a bisexual that can do math.” Sokka said, shaking off his hair.

Sokka is bisexual. Sokka is bisexual. The Taro Boy Zuko arranged his work schedule to see, is bisexual. Zuko had a shot. It was like the spirits came down and handed him a medal, he was so happy. 

“That’s incredible. And hey, I have an offer. If our team wins the game tonight, I will take you out to dinner, and we can get whatever you want. Sound fair?” Zuko said praying Sokka would say yes. 

And then he did. 

“Hell yeah! It’s a date though, no takebacksies. You owe me a beautiful date night Zuko, and as the plan guy, I will figure out the details. Just promise me you’ll show up ok?” 

“Definitely.” Zuko said feeling as though lightning was coursing through his veins. 

“Then this win? Is for you.” 

And off Sokka went. Zuko had just earned a date with Sokka. He took initiative, he put himself out there, and gave it a shot. He felt on fire, he was almost going to text his therapist about what a great job he did. About how good this feeling was. But he remembered a crucial fact. He hadn’t come out yet, not even to Uncle. Sokka was the very first person. 

Joy soon turned into panic. He ran back to the others and sat down by them. 

“Sokka’s drinking water Katara and everything is fine on his end. And hey the cheerleaders are doing a great job! I could never do the splits.” Zuko began speaking at the speed of sound almost as if the words were running away from his mouth. 

Toph grabbed Zuko’s arm and squeezed. 

Zuko got a good look at her while he got his breathing to slow down. She was very young looking, yes he knew that she was just a freshman and he was a junior but her features were just young. She has chubby cheeks and almost a button nose. Even her blind eyes seemed young. Her raven bangs hung in her face as she blew a breath of air to move them. 

“Let’s go talk.” She said, yanking at Zuko’s arm. 

“Hey Zuko, go grab some water and a snack ok? As silly as it sounds I do that when I speak too fast for my own mouth.” Aang said knocking on his shaved head as if it were hollow. That silly gesture just meant the world to Zuko.

However as he walked with Toph the embarrassment began to settle in. He just visibly showed anxiety in front of everyone. And one word came flashing back into his mind from what used to be home… WEAK. He felt sick to his stomach. He had to leave, but he couldn’t abandon Sokka. He needed an out as he felt the crowds closing in. 

“Hey, I know a place with some fresher air. Sokka will be fine for a few minutes.” Toph said as she continued walking away from the field and a little towards the parking lot. 

“You’ve got something on your mind, spill it. Look, if you tell me your secret, I’ll tell you one too.” She said finally stopping and going to sit down. 

Zuko helped her sit down and debated with himself. She was easily one of his best friends in the world, so quickly. And she called him a brother, so maybe, maybe he could trust her. This was about to be terrifying but he had to try. 

“Toph, I… I like men. I like men.” Zuko said starting to cry. 

“Bend down. Please bend down ok? So I can feel your face?” Toph said calmly. Zuko complied feeling nothing but fear.

“It’s ugly, it’s ugly, I’m sorry.” Zuko finds himself breaking down and falling to his knees. He felt like puking. He just came out, and that person wants to feel his face, his scarred, hideous face. Like everything was crashing in waves around him. 

Toph gently touched his face, she brushed the scar with her thumb. For a tough girl she had a gentle touch in this situation. 

“Hey, I think it’s bad ass. I can’t see, so I can’t say much about beauty but from the way it feels, and the placement, it feels like you’re a main character in a video game! Plus it helps that you’re cool already. And Zuko…? That’s fine by me. I support you 100%.” Toph said, wiping the tears from Zuko’s face. 

“Toph...what...but...why?” Zuko started feeling at a loss for words, but a small smile of relief washing across his face. 

“Just don’t be a noodlebrain and scare me like that! I don’t care who you make out with, just don’t let them be a loser.” Toph said, punching him in the arm. 

“I won’t, I won't. Thank you so much….what’s your secret?” Zuko asked, taking his 3 deep breaths. 

“I’ve been homeless for the past 3 weeks. I sleep outside of the school or at Katara and Sokka’s place. I ran away from home. I think your uncle knows. Everytime I come over he gives me extra food or tea. I’m not helpless though. I get along just fine!” She says getting back up.

“My uncle always says that there’s no shame in getting help. And by the way, you’re not going to be sleeping outside anymore. There’s an extra space in my apartment. And from one kid who left home to another? Just trust me.” Zuko said getting up to walk with her. 

“Let’s go watch Sokka win. Ok?” She said, grabbing ahold of her stick and of Zuko’s arm.


	12. Chapter Twelve

The ending of the game was incredible. Sokka did score, after several previous attempts, and in typical fashion, Sokka did a bit of a victory dance, which got him a good scolding from Piando. 

When everything died down the group ran to Sokka joining him in a large group hug. However Zuko didn’t know if he was supposed to join. So he stood off to the side and waited, which got him stared at by the group, and Katara finally calling to him,

“Being a part of the group means being a part of group hugs Zuko.” 

He didn’t know what to do with his arms but he joined and wrapped his arms around the people closest by him. A shiver ran up his spine when he pulled away. He didn’t often get to do group hugs with his old “friends” which were more like his sisters' friends that hung around him because they had to. These were HIS friend, and they were his friends because they wanted to be. 

“Come on, let’s grab some dinner! I’m thinking pizza?” Sokka said, stretching his arms out. He wrapped an arm around Zuko and pulled him in close.

“I’m fine with that. If...if everyone is cool with that too.” Zuko’s shoulders tensed up. 

The rest of the group rambled in agreement.

“Zuko, what kind of pizza is your favorite? I don’t like pepperoni but Sokka makes fun of me all the time about it! But I’m a vegetarian.” Aang asked. Zuko never gave too much thought to pizza. He hadn’t had it in so long, so what was his opinion?

“I like margarita pizza honestly. But I don’t mind meat on pizza.” Zuko said, finding himself leaning into Sokka’s touch. 

“I think you’re all fools because the best damn thing about pizza places are the mozzarella sticks.” Katara called out from leading the way. 

“I agree with sweetness.” Toph huffs. 

The group laughs and goes to the pizza place with Aang and Toph attempting to race each other and Katara begging them to not play in the middle of the street. Sokka and Zuko walked behind, Sokka continuing to hold Zuko around the shoulders.

“Sokka, were you serious about wanting to go on a date with me?” Zuko asks looking up at the sapphire eyes staring down at him. 

“Yes, I was. If you’re just joking about the whole thing then I gotta know. Because I really want an opportunity to go out with The Jasmine Dragon, Zuko. I want to go out on a date with you. It doesn’t have to be immediately serious. I just want to get to know you besides my English partner and the cute boy who serves me tea.” Sokka said, stopping in his tracks. 

“Sokka, I… I want to be with you. I want to be more than the guy who helps with poetry and serves you Taro Bubble Tea. I’m not joking. So let’s take it date by date, see where we’re going cause I’ve never truly done this before. But I want to try.” Zuko replies. 

The boys stare at each other and instead of a romantic moment, the sound of Katara yelling over at them quickly made the softness turn into bisexual panic.

“Come on slow pokes! Toph said she’ll eat your garlic knots if you two keep doing douchey bro talk.” 

The boys quickly in an attempt to make it seem like nothing had happened ran towards the group. 

“Zuko, you wanna split a plate of mozzarella sticks with the rest of the group?” Toph asked Zuko, punctuating it with a tongue pop. 

“Yeah, I think I will.” He replied softly, with a real smile on his face. His smile was awkward, but all Sokka could see, was the cutest thing in the world.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

It was finally Monday and Zuko’s heart was in his throat. He hadn’t seen Sokka in person since they confessed their feelings to each other. Sure they were sending each other pictures of ducks and ranting about what cheese is the best, but the topic of their date, or what was even happening didn’t come up. Zuko spent the weekend helping Toph move into his apartment. To which they would fight because Zuko was too “frilly” for her taste. She wanted things simple and, “didn’t want a stupid throw pillow”. They were lucky that Iroh was there to calm everything down. 

And as Zuko walked up to school, he wore something new. He wore BLUE. The color blue. Zuko was known to only wear red and black things, maybe with the occasional yellow. But there he was, in Sokka’s blue jacket that he forgot to give back. He was planning what to say in his head over and over until he was stopped by Aang. 

“Hey Zuko! I wanted to hang out with you today, is that cool? Sokka’s busy with the team, Katara has a science project to do with a group of girls, and Toph has detention. I was thinking we go out to the park?” He said bouncing all around like he usually did. 

“That sounds great Aang. I actually could use the relaxation. Today is all tests for me so no homework, but I think I could use some of your optimism.” Zuko said with a chuckle.

“Oh! Then I know exactly what we are doing instead! Meet me at our group’s usual spot when school is over. We are going to have some real fun.” Aang replied, looking twice as excited as he was before. 

The two eventually had to split due to the bell. Aang had history with Mr.Pakku and that man was always a stickler for time, and he was NOT Aang’s biggest fan to say the least. Zuko walked nervously to English. He knew that he had to sit next to Sokka, with Sokka’s jacket on. Things were different now, Sokka was no longer Taro Boy, he was Zuko’s boyfriend. 

Professor Bumi was wildly bouncing around the room. He acted like that the last time they had a “test”. Bumi’s tests were not like a typical teacher’s test. He wanted outside of the box thinking, and genuine answers. He despised the words, ‘multiple choice’. Usually his tests were just an essay, he wanted genuine thoughts on what the class had learned. He wanted the class to ‘act like mad geniuses’ and do something different. Which in all honesty, Zuko found jarring. He was so used to testing, filling in bubbles, and outlining pages from a standard given by the curriculum. Bumi worked differently. It took Zuko a long time to understand that things could be different than that. 

“Yo Zuko!” Sokka’s voice called out to him from the back. 

Sokka was wearing red. He was wearing Zuko’s scarf. The scarf that Zuko found in his bag at the pizza place. Sokka thought it was adorable and snatched it from him. He liked how soft it was. Zuko refrained from telling him that it was given to him by his mother years ago, which is why it’s so soft. 

The two of them were wearing each other’s clothes. Zuko felt dizzy. Like everything was suddenly real. He walked over and sat at his desk. He knew his face was probably bright red. His sister always used to tease him about how red he could get when embarrassed or nervous. She would laugh because she ‘would never look like that’. 

“So, first order of business. You look incredible in my jacket. Second, you’re coming with me to the big Halloween party. It’s on, well, Halloween, this Saturday. And we have to look our best according to Katara. And she’s the fashion expert sibling. She’s much more...uh… aesthetic? Is that the word?” Sokka began to ramble on. 

“Yes the word is aesthetic and… a big party?” Zuko said, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous.

“Yeah, but you’ll be by me and the group the whole time. Besides, I want to have my boyfriend with me. It’ll be fine. Ok?” Sokka said. 

Zuko knew that this would be either a nightmare or a good time. He hadn’t been to a big party in a long time, And those parties were banquets, his own birthday parties were events, not a friendly type deal. And never with kids his own age, that was a big no. But he wanted to try, to have a normal life he had to at least try. And he would have Sokka with him… it would be ok. 

“I’ll do it. And you look good in my scarf...pretty good for a cold day right?” He said softly. 

Before the conversation could go deeper Bumi was calling attention to the whole class. He was ready to start their test. 

“The instructions are quite simple. I have one rule. Make a poem about whatever you want, however you must make it sound like it was written in the romantic era of poetry, whether that be goth or not is up to you. Now class, show me your mad genius and begin!” The professor said with a flourish gesturing to the looseleaf paper on the podium. After his grand gesture he walked over to his incredibly messy desk and had some coffee. 

As Zuko took his piece of paper he wondered what was on his mind lately. Romance, friendship, and tea. That was his whole life in recovery. These were the things that brought him joy. So he sat down and wrote. 

‘Within one cup my life had changed for the better  
I could not imagine a life without us together  
Neither soul, nor art, nor pen, nor song   
Neither reality nor fiction words on a page  
Can explain this love  
Quite like a single little cup can do’

Zuko decided that these words were the ones that made him feel like a genius. Even though he rarely felt like one. Sokka, Toph, his uncle, they were geniuses. And his one truest connection to them is the power of a cup of tea. With a cup of tea his uncle could calm his mind. A cup of tea with Toph was the first gentle silence Zuko had ever experienced. And a cup of tea is what started his life with Sokka. One cup of Taro Bubble Tea. 

The class ended after Zuko felt like he properly expressed his words. Honestly, at the end he was praying he had a bit more time just to triple check his paper to make sure it was perfect. But the bell did pull him away. And his last connection to Sokka was a wink and a wave as they left in separate directions.

The day went on like that. Sokka and himself were so busy. It was almost as if all of the teachers decided to give juniors tests. It was like a living hell. Zuko was thankful for his Uncle’s requests for him to study more. 

Zuko felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He had all of the tests, and no free time. He spent his lunch in the library focusing on work since the rest of the group had to focus on other things. Thankfully, Toph joined him in the library and sat with him as he read out loud. She usually hated the library, but the rest of the group was so busy, and she hated hanging around with Sokka and his “nerdy science dnd friends”. So she decided on Zuko. 

Even gym class wasn’t as fun as usual. Sokka was chatting with Coach Piando over football work while playing basketball. And when he wasn’t doing that, he was glaring at Jet who was talking to Zuko all about theater. He always got in too close for comfort for Zuko. He would always get up in Zuko’s face and get flirty. It made Zuko blush out of pure embarrassment and awkwardness. And when he looked towards Sokka for help, all Sokka did was seem mad. 

The whole day felt rotten, and as Zuko left the building his heart felt heavy, and like he didn’t know what was going on with himself. He chalked it up to being a bad day though. He really didn’t want to get back into the despair headspace. His therapist just talked to him about that the day before. 

But Aang was outside at their usual spot bouncing all around. His hair was starting to grow out, not by a whole lot, but hair was more prevalent. Zuko honestly liked this new look. 

“Zuko! I know the best spot to help you let go! We are gonna have so much fun! We’re going to go do Laser Tag! I know it’s a bit of a walk but I think it’d be a great time for you to rant off your daily troubles. When I was younger that’s what Gyatso always had me do. We would talk serious and then do something fun! He said it was for my well-being.” Aang said, grabbing Zuko by the arm and dragging him off campus. 

“Who is Gyatso? Aang, I feel like I don’t know anything about your outside life besides Appa, who is such a good dog, don’t get me wrong. But what’s your, uh, family situation?” Zuko asked awkwardly.

“Well, I was an orphaned when I was a baby. Then I was raised by Gyatso, an old monk who took me in. He was judged a lot by the other monks in his community for taking care of me the way he did. We made fruit pies together too. Which is why I’m a vegetarian. But Gyatso died, and I couldn’t be with the other monks, it didn’t feel the same. But Gyatso saved a lot of money for me, I was written in his will. So I got an apartment for me, and all the ladies in the neighborhood keep making me dinner even though I don’t need it. But yeah, that’s why I’ve got the bald head, but Katara likes my hair longer so I’m trying to grow it out… does it look weird?” Aang said, going from looking at the sky to right at Zuko. 

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Goofy Aang, the kid who introduced him to his friends. The guy who could practically eat a slice of cake in one bite, had been through so much. Zuko wondered if he could ever get to that happy place one day.

“Yeah Aang, I like your grown out hair. It’s a good look on you. So, you like Katara huh?” 

“Yes, I do. She’s my forever girl. I met her when we were in middle school. She’s a grade above me. But she was always so nice and caring. At first we were friends, and then, she became this beautiful girl that was there for me when I needed it. Sokka became like my brother too. We got close after finding each other annoying at first. I feel like a member of the Clearwater family. And I’d do anything for her.” Aang said with a blush. Zuko felt his heart shift. Aang trusted him, he should trust Aang. 

“I uh… I like guys. Only Toph knows.” Zuko said scratching his head. 

Aang turned to Zuko and had the brightest grin on his face. It was like Aang had just eaten a piece of sunshine. He looked so happy and immediately hugged Zuko.

“That’s great! Gyatso always told me that love was freedom. That it was ok to love whoever, love was sacred and spiritual. It doesn’t matter who the person is. It’s the connection, the freedom you feel with them, that counts.” Aang said, looking deep into Zuko’s eyes. 

He found himself tearing up at this. There were people that didn’t find it shameful. He wasn’t wrong. Aang cared too. Aang, this happy kid, was happy for Zuko. 

“Come on Zuko, let’s go to the glow in the dark Laser Tag place. I’ll buy you a slushie if you tell me who your crush is!” Aang said skipping ahead. 

“Ok! Ok I think I will… it’s also a Clearwater sibling.” Zuko said shyly. 

“OH MY SPIRITS” Aang said, freezing in his tracks. 

“This is great, he likes you so much. He likes you so much. Even back before I knew knew you. I knew of the ‘beautiful tea boy’. Man this is great! You two can be together, and it’ll be awesome. Katara doesn’t know this yet so we gotta keep it shhhh.” He said, pulling Zuko into the Laser Tag building. 

It was cold in there, and dark. The whole place was neon under UV lighting. There were kids and teenagers all around playing video games or going into the lazer tag rooms. Aang seemed to know the staff as he walked in confidently. Zuko envied Aang’s ability to talk to others as if it were nothing. He wanted that kind of power. 

“Alright Zuko, let’s go down, put on our vests and get our lazer guns. This is gonna be great.” 

And so Zuko did. 

He had the most fun he’s had in a lifetime. He and Aang faced off against another group of teenagers and WON. The music was blasting 8-bit versions of popular songs, and people’s nicknames were being thrown around. It was exhilarating. And when he got the last kid down to ‘avenge’ Aang, it was awesome. He felt free, and didn’t think of school, or rules, or pain, or his father. It was all just him playing a game with other teenagers. Like a normal kid. 

Zuko was a normal kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that everybody is enjoying the story. It's going to get a bit more dramatic from here on out, and I'll be sure to put trigger warnings in the beginning of the next few chapters if necessary. Remember to love yourselves as much as Iroh loves tea! :)


	14. Chapter Fourteen

“Zuko, you’re bouncing all over the place. Why are you freaking out?” Toph said putting on a sweater. 

“Yes nephew, you seem rather excited for today. How was your little field trip with Aang?” Iroh asked as he handed both teenagers their lunches that he made. He was doting but if they were being honest they were incredibly grateful. 

“I did thank you.” Zuko replied while tying his shoe. 

The truth was, he was excited for a much different reason than just his amazing afternoon with Aang the day before. Sokka and him texted all night, the two of them explained what was going on yesterday from both of their perspectives, and Zuko completely understood where Sokka was coming from. Jet was still a sore spot for Sokka, and Jet was flirting with Zuko right in front of him. Sokka still apologized anyways for the whole situation. But that wasn’t the reason for excitement either. The reason for Zuko’s true excitement was that he was going on a date today. A date with Sokka. 

It was a simple date plan entirely. The two were going to the mall, a shopping trip that Zuko had already promised to Sokka. And after they would go back to the Jasmine Dragon for some relaxation.

“Uncle, Toph, I’m going to be out at the mall today with Sokka after school. I’ll be back home at about 6. We have gym off for today, because today is just makeups for kids who didn’t take their fitness tests. Which he and I already have. I’m going to bring some of my work money, is that ok Uncle?” Zuko asked, biting the inside of his mouth. What could he say? He was nervous. 

“Zuko, of course you can. Toph and I can take care of ourselves for an afternoon, can’t we?”

“Hell yeah I can. I’ll take care of uncle for you though. You and captain boomerang deserve a day off. After yesterday’s test frenzy that had you talking to yourself, you need a break. Just make sure you don’t do anything TOO stupid.” Toph said, flicking Zuko’s arm.

Iroh then grabbed Toph’s stick and handed them both a tea to walk to school with. Zuko grabbed his wallet and made sure that he had enough money to enjoy some time at the mall. And hopefully, share some Wetzel’s Pretzels and a lemonade with his boyfriend. He caught one look in the mirror and touched his scar, his heart sank, but then he repeated his new mantra. And in Toph’s voice he said. 

“Badass. It looks badass.” 

It was freezing outside, it was fall sure, but today was windy. Zuko was glad that Toph put on a sweater without him nagging her. He looked at his own outfit. A red beanie and black jeans, a pair of combat boots (approved by Toph herself), and his boyfriend’s varsity jacket. He knew that his nose was going to get red and was trying not to freak out about it. 

“Zuko, let me hold onto you, the wind is fucking up my stick and my walking.” Toph asked, already grabbing his arm anyway. Zuko didn’t mind though, he was glad she wanted his help. 

“Katara wants to do my makeup for the Halloween party. I was actually invited which shocked me. But the host is friends with that Satoru kid, who wants to see me? Super weird, but he’s a nice guy, and I like talking to him. And kicking his ass in the gym.” 

“I mean she’s pretty good at makeup so you’ll be fine… Wait, do you have a CRUSH on Satoru?” Zuko asked gaspingly. 

“Shut up about it alright?” Toph said with a pout. 

Zuko decided to shut up about the situation, so as to avoid pissing off his friend. However, the word friend didn’t feel right for Toph anymore. There was more there than just friendship. It wasn’t like his feelings for Sokka, or his feelings for Aang and Katara. It felt similarly to his love for Iroh. He saw her as… family. She was basically his sister, no, BETTER than his own sister. 

Speaking of family, Zuko was so much happier with his found family than he had ever been before. He realized that this family was so much more than his blood. They made him happy, they trusted him. They cared about him. Which is very big in Zuko’s opinion. 

Once they arrived at school they felt like their fingers and noses were falling off. And just as they were warming up, warm arms wrapped around them. But as Zuko began to relax, he realized that those weren’t the arms he wanted. 

“Hey did you check the cast list? You got Romeo, romeo” A voice purred into his ear. 

“Hey Jet? I’m shorter than Zuko so could you let me out of this choke hold?” Toph groaned out while shaking her shoulders free of him. 

“I did? What did you get?” Zuko asked escaping Jet’s grasp as well.

“Yeah and… I didn’t know you and Katara were friends. How is she?” He asked and his face changed, looking strange. Zuko did not like this new almost awkward side of Jet.

“She’s fine Jet. She’s doing great. Now Zuko is going to help me to my locker because as you can tell, I’m blind. You’ll see Zuko at the rehearsal tomorrow.” Toph said, grabbing Zuko’s arm again. Her voice sounded both nervous and agitated.   
Zuko nodded and began walking away, he waved to Jet out of politeness. But he felt odd. He knew that Toph could easily find her locker and walk on her own in the hallway with her stick. So what was she doing pulling Zuko away? Was she trying to help him out? Why would she do that for him? It made no sense, she wasn’t the feelings type. 

“Before you get all in your head, I did that cause I care about you. You’re my family Zuko, and that guy is a total creep with you. He flirts with you and obsesses over Katara. I know it hasn’t been that long since we’ve known each other. But you’re more family to me than my own parents were. So I am not going to let you get creeped on by losers like him.” Toph admitted as they approached her locker. 

“Thank you Toph… You’re my family too. And if that Satoru kid tries anything with you I’ll kick his ass. I know you can defend yourself, but I’ll still be pissed enough to beat the shit out of him” 

“Zuko, I want you to find happiness ok? So if that’s through Sokka, I’m here for you. And don’t try and bullshit with me about it either. I’ll keep it quiet though. I’m not a snitch, as long as you don’t tell Sokka about Satoru. He moans and groans enough over Aang and Katara.” She said with a laugh. 

With that the two parted ways and Zuko went about all of his classes. Bumi had them walking around reading the Crucible in their best “witch voice”. And Zuko found out that he miraculously got an A on his math quiz. He genuinely had no idea as to how he guessed all of those answers right, but multiple choice was on his side for once. The day was flying by in the best way. However, the class right before gym, was dragging on for what felt like hours. He knew logically it was only one hour but it felt like days. When he wasn’t dozing off he was staring at the clock. He didn’t find the class boring per say, but man, when you wait for something desperately and it’s almost there, time seems to slow down. 

The bell finally rang and Zuko was the first person out of the room. He was sprinting towards the gym at this point, as fast as his legs could take him. All he wanted to do was get to Sokka. 

Sokka was waiting right outside of the gym. He looked amazing, wearing Zuko’s scarf, a big black hoodie that Zuko wanted to steal. According to tiktok wearing your boyfriend’s hoodie is incredible. Sokka was also wearing a pair of jeans that made his butt look incredible. But all of his outfit could never compare to his sapphire eyes. That shine in them as he’s talking to Piando waiting for Zuko to show up was worth a million dollars to Zuko. 

“Zuko! You here to take makeups?” Jet asked Zuko, catching up to him. Which was exactly what Zuko wanted NOT to happen. 

However, before Zuko could even respond there was an arm around his waist. A familiar arm.

“Jet I’d like it if you’d leave him alone please. He’s my boyfriend and NOT yours. He isn’t here to take makeups, he’s meeting up with me so we can go on a date. So could you please leave us alone and take your damn tests?” Sokka asked, pure poisoned in his voice.

“Yeah, yeah. Speaking of people you take, how’s Katara?” Jet asked, the same amount of polite venom that Sokka was using in his voice. Zuko was over it, he wanted to go on his date and Jet was making him uncomfortable. 

“That’s enough! Sokka, we have to leave, and Jet has to go makeup his gym tests. There is no reason to talk about a girl who isn’t even here to defend herself. So, Sokka, let’s go to the mall, and Jet, I will see you at rehearsals tomorrow. It’ll all be great.” Zuko said, clapping his hands. He pulled Sokka away with him throwing both Jet and Piando a wave. 

As the two made it outside, Sokka began to take the lead heading towards a blue and white van. Zuko recognized it a few times from when Sokka and Katara would drive home from the Jasmine Dragon, but he’d never been inside. It may be stupid but having one more little thing to learn about the Taro Boy was important to Zuko. 

“Sorry I got so uh… stupid back there. Thank you for pulling me out of there. I’m glad you made it into the play. What part did you get?” Sokka said, hugging Zuko close. 

“You’ll never believe it, I got Romeo. With this… face, I landed the role of Romeo.” Zuko said curling into Sokka’s warmth. The day had shitty weather but this, this was worth it. Cold could stay if it meant being able to spend time in his Taro Boy’s arms.

However, that comfort was ripped from him when Sokka’s two hands pulled Zuko’s face up. Sokka was touching Zuko’s scar. Zuko wanted nothing more than to run away. But he promised his uncle, and his therapist to be more brave. Even Toph would give him hints to shape up. So he took a deep breath and looked up into Sokka’s eyes.

“I can believe you got Romeo. Cause your face? Your face is stunning. Of course you’d play a boy romance, you won my heart with a smile and a cup of tea.” 

And then he got a kiss on the forehead. Sokka kissed him on the forehead. 

Zuko felt as though he hit cloud nine. It was so simple, just a gentle kiss on the head. He couldn’t believe how relieved he felt. He fought back the urge to cry. 

The mall was incredibly fun. The boys mostly spent their time in the board game store. Sokka explained a large chunk of the lore within the d&d universe and what dice to roll when. And Zuko found himself both confused and interested. When Zuko finally convinced Sokka to pick something out they headed over to do some clothes shopping. And that was a very interesting point of shopping. 

Sokka loved dressing up Zuko. Sokka spent a large chunk of their time clothes shopping putting together outfits for Zuko. And Zuko decided to give it a shot. At first he was incredibly nervous about the situation. But as he kept going, he liked seeing all the different clothes. And the joy in Sokka’s eyes too. 

Sooner than later though the two boys returned to the Jasmine Dragon. They had just finished their cinnamon hot pretzels and were in need of some hot tea. So Zuko went right behind the counter and put on a pot and waited for the water to boil. As they waited Sokka took it upon himself to turn up his music. And what Zuko heard blew his mind. 

Uptown Girl by Billy Joel. 

He loved that song. He realized that that song was playing in the shop when he first met Sokka. And it was the first song Zuko listened to walking to Kyoshi High. 

“Zuko come over here!” He heard Sokka call out over to him. 

Sokka had his hand held out towards Zuko. The music was playing and Zuko grabbed Sokka’s hand. The two of them began to dance together. The upbeat tempo of the song helped the two of them find some form of rhythm. The two were not good dancers by any means, but the feelings were all there. Zuko’s heart rate had never felt faster. He felt alive. It was not the same rush as laser tag with Aang, this was a romantic rush. It was beautiful and it was stupid. 

When the song finished, Sokka pulled Zuko into a beautiful kiss. That kiss felt like nothing else in Zuko’s life. It was electric and comforting at the same time. It was pure energy. 

“WHAT?!?!?” A loud voice rang out.

And then the teapot began to scream.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Aang. Katara. Toph. Iroh. They were all standing in the shop staring at Zuko in Sokka’s arms. Suddenly both of their cheeks had become bright red and they were quick to scramble out of their positions. 

Iroh went to take the pot off the stove. And Katara ran up to them immediately. 

“How long? Who knew? And why didn’t anyone tell me?” She yelled looking around at everyone. 

“Which part of this story? Because I know a bit of it but not all of it.” Aang said awkwardly. 

“Same here actually.” Toph added. 

“Full truth time boys. Because I’d love to know what’s going on here between my brother and one of my good friends.” Katara said, rubbing her temples.

“I’ll go first. Since May I have been coming to the Jasmine Dragon for tea and a snack. It was also a chill place for me to study. I have had a crush on the boy who served me tea since we met. I was too nervous to talk to him for a while, the only things I could muster up would be simple hellos and goodbyes. Then, he became my English partner. Then my friend. And finally I worked up enough courage to challenge him to a shopping date. And we talked, and today we went on a date. So he’s kind of my boyfriend, if he’s cool with that.” Sokka explained. 

Zuko felt his whole heart leap out of his chest. 

“I uh… have the exact same story, except he didn’t serve me tea, I served him tea.” 

Katara rushed over to Sokka and hugged him closely. Which caught Sokka off guard. Zuko saw his boyfriend’s eyes start to tear up, as well as hers. 

“I wish you told me that you liked guys. I support you so much. I love you so much. I promise that I’ll always be here for you. So please don’t hide big shit like that from me.” Katara admitted pulling Sokka closer. 

“Well at least you remembered my rule about not dating losers Zuko.” Toph said, hugging Zuko. 

Aang just began cheering and bouncing all around the room. Chanting a chorus of ‘finallys and ‘yes thank the spirits’ 

“Zuko, may I talk to you privately? Also I would love help pouring the tea for your friends.” Iroh asked calmly, waving over his nephew. The look on his face was neutral which slowly began to terrify Zuko. What if his uncle didn’t like it? What if he told his father? What would Zuko do if his father found out that Zuko liked men?

He followed his uncle behind the counter and began to pour the hot water into the cups. His hands were shaking violently and he was praying to Agni that things would turn out ok, or at least stay silent. But that changed when he was enveloped into a big hug. 

“Do you remember what I said the secret ingredient to perfect tea was?” 

“Love… you said love.” Zuko whispered.

“I am so happy nephew. When you first came to me I was scared for you, I feared you lost your way. But you’ve gotten therapy. And shared tea with me. And worked hard every day to get better. I am so proud of you and how far you’ve come. You’ve finally gotten brave enough to go to school, make your OWN friends, And now you’ve found someone special. I love you Zuko. Now, do you see what honor really is?” Iroh said with watery eyes.

“I do… let’s get this tea over to the group. And uncle… I love you too.” 

The two brought out the hot jasmine tea for everyone, and for Zuko and Sokka who spent a while outside, this hot drink was perfect. The group began to talk.

“Ok for the Halloween party, we’ve got to talk plans. I’m doing makeup for everyone. But we should talk about who’s dressing up as what and who’s house are we doing all that at. I was thinking maybe my place? But it’s up to everyone.” Katara began.

“We could always do it at my apartment, Appa misses you all.” Aang said with a smile. Dogs were a plus in Zuko’s opinion, but maybe the easiest plan would be Katara and Sokka’s house.

“Whatever’s easier should be our option.” Zuko said, and Toph nodded along with him.

“Alright then, why don’t we hang out at Aang’s place tomorrow so we can see Appa, and then do makeup at our place the night of the party.” Sokka said coming up with the plan, like he usually does.

That seemed like the best idea to the whole group so everyone was cool with that conclusion.

“I hope you kids have fun at this party. Remember to stay safe though. For your uncle’s sake.” Iroh said with a laugh.

“Yes sir!” Aang and Sokka said saluting Iroh.

Katara, Toph, and eventually Zuko joined in their salute. The whole room broke out into laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so thankful to everybody who has been supporting this story! You all are amazing


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Play rehearsals were plenty of fun for Zuko. He found himself liking acting more and more, even though he’d only been to two rehearsals so far. The drama teacher was focused on getting the cast to know each other, and get comfortable with their characters. Which Zuko found ridiculous at first but once he got into it he couldn’t stop. However things with Jet were still slightly awkward. The two still had good antagonist/protagonist dynamics, but they were rather awkward off stage. Zuko assumed things would be like this since the whole situation before his and Zuko’s date, but when the time came around it was still awkward. 

Friends were easy to make with the other theater kids, they were a bit strange but plenty of fun. Zuko liked how out loud they were, they pulled him a bit out of his shell a bit. And Zuko wasn’t the only one who enjoyed him coming out of his shell. 

Sokka was excited to talk to Zuko after his rehearsals. He said ‘goofy Zuko’ was ‘best Zuko’. 

However Saturday had finally come around and it was time for Zuko to go to an actual high school party. And if it weren’t for Toph, Zuko would have been shaking the whole car ride to Sokka and Katara’s house.

The group all had their costumes picked out. Zuko and Sokka were going as a vampire and a werewolf, Katara was going full 70s hippie, Toph was turned into Wednesday Adams, and Aang was a good old fashioned zombie. They look good, and even Zuko can admit, in their photos, he loved his look. Especially since in some of the photos he did his best to angle his face enough to hide the scar. Even though Sokka told him it, ‘looked better with the scar’. 

During the whole getting ready process, Katara was horrified to find out that Zuko did not have an instagram and swiftly made him an account, using a photo Sokka snuck of him as his profile picture. She then told him to wait until she edited the group photos to be perfect for their looks. 

For a girl who’d kick his ass in a fight she liked to make her posts cute and took Halloween photos seriously. And he honestly had no problem with that, in fact he appreciated it since he never thought he was photogenic. 

“Alright everybody, let’s head over to the party. Everyone’s phones better be charged so nobody gets left behind.” Katara said, fluffing out her hair.

“Got it Sugar Queen, I’ll be smart tonight.” Toph said, curtsying with her new dress.

They stepped outside as a group, Toph holding onto Zuko’s one arm while Sokka held his other hand. He caught a look up at Sokka and felt his heart race. He looked very good in the half buttoned plaid shirt and wolf ears. And the fake blood both of them had running down their chins added to the effect. So the normally gorgeous Sokka looked even hotter. Which made Zuko swallow thickly, his smile was already enough to give Zuko a heart attack. This was the next level.

The house was already loud with music blasting and people all around. Sokka and Aang led the way into the house dapping up people as they went along. The two were friendly guys which could not be said about Zuko who could barely have conversations with inanimate objects. He stuck by Sokka’s side with Toph in general until he heard a voice call out.

“Toph! It’s me Satoru. I love your costume, you look great.” He began to stutter out, which caught Katara’s attention. 

“Yes she does. And who are you?” She said coming up behind Toph. 

“Katara, this is Satoru. He’s a guy I know. He’s really cool so don’t be weird. I’m gonna go hang out with him for a bit ok?” She said, looking at the group and then reaching out for Satoru’s arm. He held it out excitedly looking over the moon. It made Zuko snort a bit at how ridiculous the whole scenario seemed. 

“Aang ran off to go join a dance circle, I’m going to find him. You boys behave and don’t do anything too stupid alright?” Katara said to Zuko and Sokka who soon found themselves alone in the big party. They nodded in response and she left, heading towards the backyard.

Sokka then dragged Zuko over to where some other guys were standing. A few he recognized too. Haru and Teo were on the crew of the show, Teo was usually in the set figuring out how to build some set pieces, while Haru worked on little props. They were joined by a few other guys Zuko noticed from English. He wondered how they all knew each other.

“Zuko, these are the players to my d&d campaign. They love to destroy my riddles and ruin my plans.” He said with a laugh. The others joined him, including Zuko who couldn’t stop himself from laughing at his Taro Boy’s jokes. 

One of the football guys grabbed Sokka’s shoulder after a bit of discussion and asked him if he wanted to grab drinks with them and one for Zuko. Sokka nodded and squeezed Zuko’s hand in support before leaving. Zuko knew that Sokka was just trying to be affectionate but the second he left panic struck through Zuko’s body. He kept talking to the d&d boys for a bit about random stuff but he began to grow worried and wanted to go find Sokka. As he was walking around this honestly massive house, he stumbled across a sight he wished he would never have to see again.

A girl with braided hair in a bunny costume, a girl with a permanent scowl in a cute witch costume, and a girl with her hair up in a bun, in a devil costume. All three talking with a group of guys to the music playing in the house. 

That’s right, his sister Azula, his ex-girlfriend Mai, and their friend Ty Lee, all at one party.  
Zuko immediately turned and went in the other direction hoping he hadn’t been caught by Azula, all though deep down he knew he probably was. He began walking through the crowd to go find his boyfriend hoping by the spirits that Sokka could pull Zuko into a random conversation and save him. However as he thought that he crashed into a girl running inside from the backyard. It was Katara who looked up at him, and as he looked down at her they said at the same time,

“I need to find Sokka.”

The two without even explaining began their search for the tall man, searching for his trademark wolf tail. But came up empty, and suddenly they began to feel cornered. 

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were approaching Zuko through the crowd, and looking away, he found himself back to back with Katara who was being approached by Jet. This was growing into something far too much for Zuko’s anxiety to handle. And everything came crashing before him when he heard her say it.

“Zuzu! I didn’t think you’d ever come to one of these parties, you were never the type to go out. Always so moody, wouldn’t you say Ty Lee?” Azula said, her words sickeningly sweet causing a chill to run up Zuko’s spine.

“You always had such negative energy before, your aura was all off. But you’re happier now, why’s that?” Ty Lee said immediately breaking Zuko’s personal space, which he barely let people invade nowadays, but around these girls he was powerless. And he knew that. His hands began to shake.

Suddenly an arm wrapped around Zuko’s shoulders. A familiar arm, a familiar cologne, same warmth as always. It was Sokka, and he could tell that his boyfriend’s arm was also wrapped around Katara’s shoulders. Sokka used his size and agility to his advantage in most situations knowing that he probably couldn’t fight Jet and was not the most intimidating guy once you get to know him.

“Maybe because he’s got people like me in his life.” Sokka finally said, pulling Zuko closer to him and away from Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai. 

“And who do you think you are?” Mai said, crossing her arms and glaring at him. 

“Apologies for my rude introduction, the name’s Sokka, also known as Zuko’s boyfriend. And who might you be?” He started and leaned over his shoulder and said, “oh hey Jet, don’t you have somewhere to be?” 

Jet ran off and Aang replaced him looking for Katara, going to ask her where she had been, but was soon silenced by Katara herself so as to avoid interrupting whatever was going to go down between Sokka and Zuko’s sister. 

Sokka let go of Katara and brought his full attention to Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. He held his now free hand out to them for them to shake if they desired to do so. However, this wasn’t the usual sweet, goofy, Sokka. This was protective Sokka, who could be intimidating when he chose to be. And his hair was out of its wolf tail and looked twice as attractive as usual. His eyes even match Azula’s in challenge.

“Azula, Zuzu’s little sister. You’re just so different aren’t you?” She said, taking Sokka’s hand and shaking it. Zuko’s breathing began to get a bit more rapid. He wasn’t prepared for this. He was scared.

“You’re cute! I’m Ty Lee, this is my girlfriend Mai, she used to date Zuko too once!” Ty Lee giggled with a wink at Sokka which threw him off a bit.

Mai just waved with a pointed look on her face. Staring Zuko in the eyes as she did so. 

“We haven’t seen my dear brother in so long, and when we saw him across the crowd we just had to come see him. I knew he had moved away but a boyfriend? Not what I was expecting, I wonder how dad would feel about all this huh Zuzu? Thankfully you don’t have to worry about that now do you?” Azula said, punctuating her sentence with a tongue pop. Zuko looked down at his feet, hanging his head and staring at his shoes, hoping that would take him away from this conversation. 

“I know! We should go grab some food at that poor little diner! Post-party food! You know we came here cause the host’s sister goes to our school. Ugh I could totally go for a milkshake, the aura in this room is all gray now, let’s go fix that!” Ty Lee cheered trying to cut the thick air that was gathering around them. 

Katara was the one to step in and look at them.

“Why not? Zuko, we’ll go with you since your stuff is still at our place. Come on let’s go grab Toph. You girls wait there ok?” Katara said, batting her eyelashes, which only really seemed to fool Ty Lee. But Azula nodded with a bit of an eye twitch. However, Zuko could not have been more grateful for his friends coming to protect him during this dinner. Spirits, he needed it. 

Toph was in the dining room arm wrestling a line of guys and winning flawlessly, all while Satoru kept fawning over her. Zuko and Sokka whistled to call her over to the group.

“Sorry boys, but duty calls.” She said, standing up and feeling her way over to the group. 

“Does everybody have their things? We’re going to go eat food with Zuko’s sister! Yay!” Katara forced out holding Aang’s hand tightly. Toph reached out to grab Zuko’s hand squeezing it to make sure he was still breathing. Azula gasped.

“No way, you’re the daughter of the Beifong family. They stopped doing business with us a while back huh? Didn’t know Zuko was hanging out with another runaway.” Azula said with a laugh while Ty Lee led the way outside to the diner. 

Sokka pulled Zuko to the side for a bit and Toph grabbed on to Aang to give the two some space.

“Hey, you’re going to be fine. I’m here this time, and I won’t get distracted cause I’ll be sitting down at the table with you. Nothing she can say will hurt you when I’m around.” Sokka said, holding his pinky out as to make a promise with Zuko. He eventually swore with his boyfriend and took a deep breath, dealing with Azula would be doable as long as he had his friends by his side.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

The Rumble Diner was a nice place. It was an older diner so the interior remained the same since the 70s. The vintage furniture was so cool to Zuko, he’d grown an appreciation for vintage things ever since he moved in with Iroh. There was a young hostess that greeted them at the door. Zuko remembered her face well too, because she also was a regular at the Jasmine Dragon. Jin was a sweet girl that still was nice to him despite how incredibly awkward he was towards her. And as Aang went to go request the bigger table, Azula stepped in.

“Your biggest table server girl. Make it quick.” She barked out.

Zuko was horrified at that behavior. He remembered how he used to have that mindset a year ago, and it made him cringe. He despised that new behavior and sought to stop it.

“Jin, take your time it’s fine. But we are a party of 8 so a bigger table would be nice.” Zuko spoke up, acting confident for once. Which shocked everybody. 

“Of course! I’ll grab some menus and get you over there. It’s good to see you again outside of the shop. Same to you too guys!” She called out to Sokka, Aang, Toph and Katara. She had a big smile on her face but Zuko knew that what Azula said unnerved her. Which made Zuko’s hands clenched into fists.

Sokka looked at Zuko and gestured for him to take his three breaths. 

As Zuko took his three breaths he felt peace run through him. He had his support system with him. Sokka, Toph, Aang, and Katara were all there with him. They were by his side supporting him through this. He wasn’t alone.

Jin returned with menus and began leading the way for the group to sit down at the larger table. She told the group to hold on until she could get them their waiter for the night, and hurried off into the kitchen. Now that the group was alone, it was conversation time. 

“So, I heard you made a little life for yourself here. Is it true you and uncle are playing shop?” Azula started.

“Yes, they are. And it’s the best tea place in the whole city!” Aang said with a big smile.

“Who exactly are you guys? I wanna know Zuko’s new friends!” Ty Lee called out, practically bouncing in her seat. Zuko knew she meant well, but this situation would only get more awkward.

“I’m Toph, the boy in the zombie costume is Aang, the girl sitting next to me is Katara, and you already know Sokka. What are the names of you princesses?” Toph said in almost a bitter tone. She too was not a fan of the spoiled demeanor of the three girls across from her. Which honestly, was completely valid.

“I’m Mai. That’s Ty Lee. And Zuko’s sister is Azula.” Mai finally piped up. He voice in its usual monotone. 

“Great to meet you all, really. But I’d love to know how you all met Zuko. I mean really, I can’t possibly see why a group of commoners befriended Zuko Ryu. It blows my mind truly, there’s so much I don’t know about Zuzu now. Like why he has a boyfriend…” Azula said, leaning her shoulders on the table.

Katara took a deep breath, immediately looking furious at the language Azula was using.

“Zuko goes to our school. He’s our friend, and has been close to my brother for a while. He doesn’t treat us like commoners because we aren’t.” She practically growled out. Aang put a hand on her shoulder before she would start yelling.

Azula began to laugh. Her laugh was, well, aggressive. She was not the most charismatic girl on planet Earth, quite frankly she and Zuko shared a similar awkwardness when it came to socializing with people who weren’t adult businessmen and women. It was just as they were raised.

“Interesting. I didn’t know Zuko did stuff like that.” Mai said as Ty Lee leaned on her.

“What’s Zuko like at school? I wanna know! He always used to be so grumpy, the negative energy never did him any good. But his aura is all different now! It’s so nice! I’m sure you know cutie.” Ty Lee said with a wink over at Sokka. Sokka’s eyes widened and thought to himself.

Unlike Azula or Zuko, Sokka was charismatic. He was good at talking with people, it was one of the things that Zuko admired about him. The Clearwater siblings were good with people, which was probably why they attracted everybody they came across whether that be romantically or friendship wise. It helped the rest of their gang in awkward situations, especially when Zuko and Aang were too awkward to ask for no pickles. 

“He’s smart, sharing honors classes with me. He’s also a great actor, and landed himself the lead in our school play. Quite frankly, he’s fun to be around. I think our group wouldn’t be the same without him. I mean, where else would we rather hang out besides The Jasmine Dragon?” Sokka said with a soft laugh.

“Sokka’s right you know. He’s awesome! And he’s a part of the family now. No matter what his fancy last name is. He’s never treated us like ‘commoners’, which is a bit of a stupid term no offense.” Aang said scratching his new hair.  
Katara snapped to her brother and Aang’s comments. And while she did that a waiter came by and began filling glasses of water on the table. He asked what everybody wanted to drink, and as a scattered array of milkshake and soda orders spilled out from the group the waiter attempted to keep up. Ty Lee leaned on Mai’s shoulder and the two looked pointedly at Azula in attempts to keep her slightly respectful during her order. But once the waiter left, it was back to the passive aggressive conversation. 

“School play? I didn’t know Zuko, I think we’ll have to bring the family to come see it!” Azula said with a laugh. 

Mai’s facial expression dropped. She may have been cold, but she cared about Zuko. And she knew how bad things could get if his father showed up to the play. She wrapped her arm around Ty Lee’s shoulders. She looked at Zuko sympathetically.

“Who is your family by the way? The last name Ryu sounds familiar, but if you’re going to call us commoners I’d like to know why.” Katara said with passive aggressive sweetness in her voice. She took a sip of water.

“Well the Ryu’s are the biggest conglomerate in like ever! Huge business stuff. All of our family’s are. We go to Sozin Private High School. Which is where Zuko used to go too. He was going to be heir to the company but he got into some serious trouble with the-” Ty Lee started which was quickly interrupted by Mai.

“Enough about that please.” She said coldly. However Azula decided to laugh.

The tension in the air began to grow. Katara’s eyes widened as she came to a realization. The Ryu Conglomerate. One that built factories where small businesses used to be. An unforgiving company that hurt people and the environment with ease. A company she hated, for MANY reasons. 

“What did Zuko never tell you about that? Well it may be embarrassing to have a fall from grace like that. He used to be more muscular than this too. Quite like I am, we were told to be in shape.” 

Azula’s words echoed as the drinks were brought to everybody. 

The waiter came back to take everyone’s orders. Sokka got a big bacon cheeseburger, which was to be expected of him considering his usual diet. Aang stuck to just fries, and Katara asked to share with him. Ty Lee and Mai did the same, and Azula got herself some panini sandwich or whatever. Zuko didn’t want to eat anything, but Sokka told him that they would share his food. Zuko felt himself shrinking in his seat and knew that Sokka was glancing at him nervously. Especially once the waiter left.

“You know it was so nice to meet all of you. I’m sure father would love to see how things have been for you. And all about your new friends.” Azula said, clicking her tongue again.

“No don’t!” He instinctively responded, which shocked his own friends.  
Zuko could not let his new friends get hurt by his father. He would not let that happen by any means. His father has no mercy to people, especially people who don’t come from families wealthy like him. He felt himself getting sick to his stomach. Everything felt like it was crashing down and around him. 

“You know the consequences of lying to father Zuzu. Now let’s talk positively. I’d love to get to know about you all.” Azula said with a smirk. 

“Now, what grades are you guys in? You look different ages and stuff.” Ty Lee asked.

“I’m a sophomore, my brother is a junior like Zuko, and Toph and Aang are freshmen.” Katara said clicking her teeth the same way Azula did. Almost mockingly.

“Wow, you’re like us! Azula and I are sophomores, and Mai’s a junior. And Mai dated Zuko once too. But now she and I are dating so there’s a gay couple in our friend group too! This is so crazy. I’m so happy for you guys. You know the energy you all have together must be why you guys have such clear skin. You know attitude and stress is a large factor in your health. My dance teacher always told me that, and it’s also why I’m a cheerleader! The happier you are the better you’ll do truly. That’s what I’ve been telling Azula and Mai too. They both do volleyball. Zuko used to do that with us too when we were little.” Ty Lee rambled on. 

“That’s cool! I do dancing as well. It is good to remain upbeat while dancing.” Aang added.

Katara snorted at Aang’s sweetness, she always found his dancing cute. Their romance was so unspoken but heartwarming to Zuko. 

“Did Zuko know how to dance once upon a time?” Toph asked, attempting to guide herself to her milkshake. She seemed to be the only person who wasn’t phased by the behavior of Azula and her friends. Most likely because she grew up around these types of kids. It wasn’t shocking.

“He’s classically trained in ballroom dancing. He’s good at waltzing.” Mai said with a shrug.

Sokka’s eyes brightened. He was suddenly jumping in his seat like Ty Lee. For a responsible, studious young man he did have the energy of a small child. It always made Zuko smile.

“You can classically dance? We’re going to tango one day.” Sokka said confidently.

The rest of the meal was awkward conversation between the two groups of teenagers. The tension within the 8 kids was so thick it could be cut like cake. It heightened Zuko’s anxiety wildly. He felt like passing out and barely picked at some fries. He was exhausted and terrified. He wanted nothing more than to run away and hide. He texted his uncle to come pick him up once things finished up. Azula put down her card.

“I’ll be paying for this. Since it was such a pleasure seeing you again Zuko. Tell uncle that I said hello.” She said with a wave. 

Aang put down 5 dollars on the table to tip the waiter. He was always thoughtful like that.

The main gang all stood outside of the diner, feeling the night air on their skin. Katara looked at Zuko and pulled him aside. She looked him in the eyes, with pain in her own. 

“Are you embarrassed of us? Is she right? Do you think of us as commoners? Do you think of my brother as just a commoner? Because if you do I warn you right now I will not show you an ounce of mercy. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now, because you mean a lot to my brother, and your friendship means a lot to me and the rest of our group. But if you prove to treat us like we’re less than you, I’ll make sure you never come into contact with any of us again.” She said pointing at his chest. 

“I’m not embarrassed, I love you guys, I just… I’m scared.” He said, eyes tearing up, a few tears hitting the ground below him.

“What are you scared of Zuko?” She said crossing her arms. 

“My father.” 

And with that, Iroh pulled up to the diner in his car for Toph and Zuko.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Abuse and Violence

For the next two weeks. Zuko had gone silent. He barely spoke anymore and it looked like he was getting thinner and his eye bags darker. His hands were more shaky than usual and his voice was often hoarse. His friends began to get more and more concerned, like they saw their friend withering away. Nobody was more concerned than Sokka though. Every chance he could he would hold Zuko, whether that be his hand or in a hug. He would sneak cheek kisses to his boyfriend when he could. It was heartbreaking and even angering to him. He needed real answers, but he knew he wouldn’t get them from Zuko. So he gathered his friends together and headed towards the Jasmine Dragon. 

He knew that Zuko was at play practice, so it was the perfect opportunity to talk to Iroh, and get real answers from the man. 

“I just wish he would be honest with us enough so that we didn’t have to do this! We’re his friends, he hangs out with us every day. He’s my brother’s boyfriend. I don’t understand why he can’t just tell us the truth. Like he’s hiding from us all.” Katara complained on the drive there.

“Maybe he’s scared Madame Fussy. Considering we don’t know his situation at all.” Toph said.

“Alright, let’s avoid the yelling and try to understand where he’s coming from guys. We don’t know everything, and we don’t know his situation. He was shy when we first met him too, we can’t expect him to be open with everything yet ok?” Aang reasoned.

When they arrived at the Jasmine Dragon they saw Iroh cleaning up the shop. They knocked on the door to just let Iroh know that they were there.

He opened the door for them with a surprised smile. He was wearing his Jasmine Dragon apron that had a few tea stains on it. He looked tired, which wasn’t something the group was used to. He was often a man filled with life. The anxiety towards the situation began to grow and become more real to the group.

“It has been so long, Zuko isn’t here today. He’s at rehearsals. Is there anything I could help you with?” Iroh asked.

“We have a few questions for you if that’s ok uncle.” Toph said walking inside. She had begun calling him uncle since it had been around a month or so since she’d begun living with him and Zuko. It became a habit to call him uncle just like Zuko did.

“Of course, come inside, I will put on a pot of tea and answer any questions you have.” 

The group sat down at their usual table as Iroh put on a pot of jasmine tea. Sokka went to take a few deep breaths but Katara put her hand on his shoulder. The whole group looked at him with some support on their faces. Sokka was rather good at talking, but when it came to dark topics he had a hard time. He was the funny guy, not the dark deep kind of guy.

“What is it you would like to know?” Iroh came over with some hot tea poured out into tin cups.

“We met Azula two weeks ago. And we want to know, what’s Zuko’s dad like?” Sokka said looking from his tea cup to Iroh.

Iroh took a deep sigh and had a sip of his tea. He closed his eyes for a good minute before relaxing enough to talk about this. The group got slightly nervous, Iroh was often talking with ease, so to see him struggle for words was a bit scary.

“Zuko was born to a wealthy family as am I. My younger brother is Zuko’s father Ozai. I was going to take over the company but decided against it for personal reasons, so Ozai took over. My brother is… an angry man. He was quick to a fight, especially when we were younger. It was difficult to pull him out of fights, and even as his older brother I could rarely get through to him. When Ozai became a father I thought things would change. He was excited to become a parent, and it looked like they were on the verge of a happy family. But as Zuko aged, Ozai grew a distaste for his son. Zuko looks like his mother, always has. And in his mother’s diaries she wrote about how sometimes she liked to pretend Zuko wasn’t Ozai’s son. Ozai was cruel to his wife before they had children, so this set him off. When Azula was born, she too looked like her mother. But if Ozai lost Zuko to his wife, he would have Azula. When their mother passed away things got worse. For as cruel as Ozai was, he did have feelings for his wife. He is a stone cold man business wise, he followed in our father’s footsteps in dominating over small businesses and planting factories where he pleased. I turned away from everything however on one fateful day. Have you ever wondered how Zuko got that scar?” Iroh said, taking a sip of tea gently to take a pause.

“Where did he get the scar?” Aang asked softly. The group had always assumed it was a childhood injury, or a birth defect.

“Zuko desperately wanted to go to a business meeting with his father. Zuko looked up to his father despite his father not being kind to him. He wanted his approval. So Zuko went to a meeting, however he talked out of turn in defense of a group of environmental protestors. It embarrassed his father greatly. So when they got home from the meeting, Ozai grabbed Zuko by the hair, and held his face over the stove top until his skin was permanently disfigured. My nephew’s left eye is not usable anymore, and a good portion of his hair was singed off. He was then kicked out of the house until he learned to show respect. I offered Zuko a place to live with me. He got ill for a time and lost a lot of weight and was frequently dehydrated. But over time he learned better. He started working at the Jasmine Dragon because he wanted to ‘earn his keep’. He’s been in therapy for a year, but I fear that Azula might have brought back new trouble with her.” Iroh explained wiping a tear from his eye.

“I blamed myself for not noticing sooner what was happening to both Zuko and Azula. Both were living in a manipulated world painted by their father. And all I can do now is protect my nephew as best as I can. Which is why I’m so happy that he found you all.” Iroh added to finish off his story. 

There was not a dry eye in the room. Everybody’s hearts felt heavy. Sokka and Katara leaned into each other. As much as they bickered they loved each other and were grateful to have a family they called love. Aang looked down and played with his hands, he had Gyatso to help him and care for him, the neighbor ladies, and Sokka and Katara to be his family. And Toph hugged herself. 

Awkward Zuko, who shared his homemade lunches with them. Who memorized an entire tea menu. Who laughed at Sokka’s jokes even if they were bad sometimes. Who acted in the school plays. Who played laser tag and went apple picking with them, was hiding all of this. His jumps at sudden contact, his shaken hands, why he was quick to beg Azula not to tell his father about his new friends. He wanted nothing to do with that old life anymore. And they watched somebody drag him back into it without shutting it down sooner. 

Sokka wanted to punch himself in the face with pure anger. He usually kept it smiles and left the temper to his sister, who was probably better at articulating her anger than he would ever be. But this was too much, this was too much for him. 

“That’s… that’s not fair. He likes Billy Joel and cinnamon pretzels. He’s good at poetry. He shouldn’t have to go through that. I get wanting to seek redemption, but he didn’t have to try so hard. We’re right here.” He said, his hands shaking.

“My mother’s small business was bought out by the Ryu family. We struggled with money and my father now has to work a lot to make up for what we lost. My mother was killed by a police officer, because she was protesting in front of the Ryu building. When I heard that Zuko’s in that family I was quick to anger at him. And I apologize for that. I wasn’t being fair. There are two Ryu’s I now know that are good men, I’m sorry for doubting you.” Katara said softly, wiping her eyes with one hand andher touching her mother’s necklace with the other.

“That shit doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is, we have to be here for Zuko ok? We can’t throw him a pity party, he wouldn’t want that. Why don’t we, give him a day of fun. Maybe a sleepover or some shit. Something to cool him off and know that we don’t care about his asshole dad. That we’re here.” Toph said grabbing her tea cup and drinking from it.

Aang nodded.

“The monks always told me that peace and joy were true ways to enlighten oneself. We should give Zuko a day for him.”

Sokka slammed a fist down on the table.

“That’s it! We are gonna have a super Zuko day. Doing stuff that he likes, even if that means watching old movies, eating takeout, and having a big sleepover. It’s for Zuko got it? I’m the plan guy so I will send all of you the details on what’s going on. Let’s do this gang!” Sokka announced.

The rest of the group cheered excitedly. 

After a bit of the group hanging out in Toph’s room, Sokka had decided to go out and pick up Zuko from play rehearsals. He got in his car and left the others to hang back at the Jasmine Dragon. He had one goal in mind, to go make his boyfriend smile.

Meanwhile, at play rehearsals, Zuko was using Romeo as a way of blowing off steam. On stage his nerves were nowhere near what was happening in real life to him. He could be a different person. 

When it was time to leave, Zuko had a pleasant conversation with Jet about what he wanted to try to do in the next scene between their two characters. And when that was over, he went over to talk with Teo and Haru, his new friends. He liked talking to them because they both had great Sokka stories. Which made Zuko both happy and sad. He feared that his father may hurt Sokka, and has no idea what to do. So for now he’s elected to keep quiet and go under his father’s radar.

But when he exited the auditorium he saw Sokka’s car parked outside. He walked up to it.

“Get in, I’m giving you a ride home babe.” Sokka said, blowing Zuko a kiss and unlocking the car door. Zuko took a deep breath and got in the car.

“How was rehearsal?”

“Good, had fun.”

“Can I tell you something?” Sokka asked, making Zuko’s heart sink. He felt like he knew where this was going, and he knew he was about to be broken up with. Except he wasn’t.

“Zuko, I care about you a lot. You mean so much to me. You’re more than the cute boy who serves me tea and the nice guy who works with me in English and in Gym. You’re my boyfriend, and somebody I love having in my life. I want to eat more cinnamon hot pretzels, and drink tea with you. I’ll even sit through another viewing of The Breakfast Club if it means making you smile. So please, take care of yourself, because I need you.” Sokka said driving them back to Zuko’s apartment.

Zuko began to cry. His whole body began to shake. He needed Sokka too. He loved his life with his friends and at Kyoshi High School. He liked going to English and listening to Bumi ramble, or laugh as Mr. Pakku would yell at Aang for fooling around in the hallways. He liked eating lunch outside even when it was cold. He enjoyed taking pictures with Katara as a photographer, (which produced some good instagram content). And he liked living with Toph and his uncle, they helped him get up in the morning and go to sleep at night. He loved Romeo and Juliet rehearsals and his fellow cast members. He needed this life, and he needed Sokka, who brought him into this new world.

“Hey hey hey… you’re ok. Three deep breaths and I’ll give you a kiss.” Sokka said parking. And right after Zuko took his three deep breaths… 

He felt a warm pair of lips meet his own.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy! Positivity and constructive criticism are totally welcome.


End file.
